The news broke quietly on Wednesday, but the implications hit loudly across Major League Baseball.
Former Seattle Mariners outfielder and once-can’t-miss prospect Jarred Kelenic has signed a minor league deal with the Chicago White Sox, a contract that includes a non-roster invitation to spring training, according to multiple reports. No press conference. No glowing quotes. Just a transaction line that, on its own, tells a sobering story about how quickly baseball can humble even the brightest young stars.
At just 26 years old, Kelenic is now fighting for relevance in an organization that finished near the bottom of the standings — a far cry from the future franchise cornerstone label once attached to his name.
Not long ago, Kelenic represented hope.
Entering the 2021 season, he was widely regarded as a top-five overall prospect in baseball, a left-handed hitter with power, confidence, and the swagger of someone expected to anchor the Mariners’ lineup for a decade. Seattle fans saw him as a central piece of the club’s rebuild, the symbolic return for trading away All-Stars Edwin Díaz and Robinson Canó to the New York Mets in December 2018.
But baseball development is rarely linear, and Kelenic’s career has become a case study in unmet expectations.
From 2021 to 2023, his time in Seattle was defined by flashes of potential buried under prolonged struggles. Over 252 games, Kelenic slashed just .204/.283/.373, managing 32 home runs but posting a .656 OPS that consistently raised questions about his approach, confidence, and ability to adjust at the major league level.
There were moments when it seemed like the breakthrough had finally arrived.
In 2023, Kelenic looked more comfortable, batting .253 with 11 home runs and a .746 OPS in 105 games. His swing looked freer. His confidence appeared restored. For the first time, it felt like the Mariners’ patience might be rewarded.
Then came the moment that symbolized his turbulent journey.
Frustrated after a strikeout, Kelenic kicked a water cooler and fractured his foot — a freak injury that abruptly derailed his season and became an unfortunate metaphor for a career repeatedly interrupted just as momentum seemed to build.
By December 2023, Seattle moved on.
The Mariners traded Kelenic, along with pitcher Marco Gonzales and first baseman Evan White, to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for pitchers Jackson Kowar and Cole Phillips. The deal closed the book on Kelenic’s chapter in Seattle, a chapter filled with promise, pressure, and ultimately disappointment.
Atlanta was supposed to be a reset.
Instead, it became another reminder of how unforgiving the league can be.
In 2024, Kelenic received extended playing time with the Braves but failed to seize the opportunity, slashing .231/.286/.393 with 15 home runs and a .679 OPS across 131 games. By 2025, his role had shrunk dramatically. He appeared in just 24 games, hitting .167 with two home runs, while spending most of the season at Triple-A Gwinnett.
When the Braves outrighted him off their 40-man roster in October, Kelenic elected free agency — a quiet, sobering milestone for a player once considered untouchable.
Now comes Chicago.
The White Sox, deep into a rebuild and desperate for upside plays, represent both an opportunity and a last stand. A minor league deal with a non-roster invite offers Kelenic a chance to rewrite the narrative, but it also reflects his current standing in the industry: no guarantees, no safety net, no pedigree protection.
Around the league, evaluators see this signing less as a reclamation project and more as a gamble with minimal downside.
“Talent was never the issue,” one scout noted privately. “But confidence, consistency, and adjustments — those are what separate prospects from players.”
Kelenic’s story is not unique, but it is cautionary.
Drafted sixth overall in the 2018 MLB Draft out of high school by the Mets, he raced through the minors and arrived in the big leagues with enormous expectations. Few players enter professional baseball with that combination of hype and opportunity. Even fewer discover how fragile that status can be.
As spring training approaches, the questions surrounding Kelenic are unavoidable.
Is this merely a temporary detour before a late-career breakout? Or is this the beginning of life as a depth outfielder, bouncing between organizations while chasing flashes of what once was?
For the White Sox, the cost is minimal. For Kelenic, the stakes could not be higher.
Because in baseball, reputation fades fast — and at 26, Jarred Kelenic is no longer chasing stardom.
He’s chasing survival.
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