The New York Yankees have added another former top prospect to their organization, signing outfielder Jarred Kelenic to a minor league contract with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.
Kelenic became a free agent earlier this week after clearing waivers and rejecting an outright assignment to the Rangers‘ Triple-A club. The move brings him full circle in a way; the Mets selected him sixth overall in the 2018 draft, then traded him to Seattle six months later as part of the blockbuster deal that sent Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz to Queens.
That trade was supposed to be the start of something special for the Mariners. It didn’t work out that way. Kelenic never blossomed in the Pacific Northwest, posting a career .211/.283/.371 slash line across 1,571 plate appearances for Seattle, Atlanta, Chicago and Texas. And this season has been especially tough. In 83 plate appearances with the White Sox and Rangers, he hit just .219/.313/.288.
The White Sox designated him for assignment in late May. He elected free agency and signed with the Rangers on another minors deal. That process repeated itself, with three more DFAs and two subsequent re-signings with Texas. Finally, the third DFA led to a change of scenery.
Kelenic, still only 27, showed signs of life in the Rangers’ minor league system, posting a .992 OPS this year. But his major league production remains far below expectations. His career OPS+ of 84 means he’s been 16 percent worse than the league average. The one bright spot came in 2023, when he posted a 111 OPS+ and 2.1 bWAR in his age-23 season.
For now, Kelenic heads to Scranton, where he’ll provide depth and potentially help the RailRiders in their playoff push. Getting to the big league roster in the Bronx is another matter entirely. The Yankees currently have Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham and Spencer Jones as their regular outfield, with Heliot Ramos in a fourth outfield role and Jasson Dominguez at Triple-A. Aaron Judge is working his way back from a rib fracture and could see time at DH as he eases back into action.
That crowd means an injury, or perhaps a September roster expansion, might be Kelenic’s only realistic path to the majors. But the Yankees, known for finding value in unexpected places, decided he was worth a look.
