The Braves have made a plethora of moves this offseason, mostly bringing back their own and parting ways with others through trades and free agency. However, they have made two significant external additions in Jarred Kelenic (trade) and Reynaldo Lopez (free agency). ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle and David Schonfield have done the dirty work of grading every substantial offseason move from all 30 teams, and they are much more bullish on one of the Braves acquisitions than the other.
The deal: Seattle Mariners trade OF Jarred Kelenic, LHP Marco Gonzales, 1B Evan White and cash to the Atlanta Braves for RHPs Cole Phillips and Jackson Kowar.
Braves grade: A-
Mariners grade: C?
For the Braves, this trade is all about Jared Kelenic, who is expected to compete for the club’s starting job in left field following the departure of Eddie Rosario. Alex Anthopoulos has already shipped off Marco Gonzales and Evan White, so here’s what Doolittle has to say about the 2018 6th overall pick in the draft.
Kelenic was the sixth pick of the 2018 draft by the Mets and was sent to Seattle in the Edwin Diaz trade. Kelenic reached the majors with the M’s as a lauded prospect then spent two seasons establishing himself as a flop, hitting .168 over 558 plate appearances with off-the-bat power that was almost irrelevant given how infrequently he made contact. Last season was a lot better, though: He leveled out his swing, producing more line drives and fewer long outs. His average climbed to .253 and his OPS+ to 109, though Kelenic’s season was undermined by a broken foot suffered when he kicked a water cooler in frustration, knocking him out of action for several weeks.
Kelenic still has major holes in his game, such as incessant struggles against breaking pitches. But he is only 24 years old and has shown a recent penchant for improvement. For the Braves, he slots right in as the heavy side of a left-field platoon, where his production will be looked at as much more of a bonus than as the necessity it was in Seattle.
Doolittle’s final sentence in the second paragraph is a critical one. In Seattle, Kelenic was the centerpiece of a trade that sent Edwin Diaz to the New York Mets. There’s a lot of pressure that goes with that, especially in a mediocre offense that relied heavily on his production.
In Atlanta, that kind of pressure will be non-existent. Everything he gives the Braves offense will be icing on the cake, as he’ll be asked to add some pop to the bottom half of the order. Alex Anthopoulos is betting on the tools with this trade. If it works, it will once again be a reminder that there is nobody better at this general manager thing than AA.
However, David Schonfield isn’t as high on the Braves acquisition of Reynaldo Lopez.
The deal:Three years, $30 million
Grade: C
When the Braves traded seven players and non-tendered seven others to clear $14 million in expected payroll, it looked like they had some big plan in place to sign a starting pitcher. They reportedly made a run for Aaron Nola, but that didn’t happen, so Reynaldo Lopez looks like the backup plan, as the Braves will apparently give him a chance to start after he has spent the past two seasons as a solid reliever (3.02 ERA).
Lopez last started regularly with the White Sox from 2018 to 2020, but he struggled with home runs, and even as a reliever hasn’t shown the control needed to make it as a starter. It’s a worthy experiment to add potential rotation depth, but Lopez is probably more of a sixth or seventh option in a good rotation. Still, at the minimum the Braves have added to their bullpen, where Lopez has been a durable workhorse. The bigger question: Does this preclude the Braves from still going after one of the top starters, such as Sonny Gray or Marcus Stroman?
That’s not exactly a glowing endorsement of Reynaldo Lopez, but as the offseason continues, I’m not sure I disagree. The Braves say they are going to try him out as a starter, which is an intriguing experiment, but expectations should be tempered. Lopez has proven to be much more reliable as a reliever than he is as a starter, and expecting that to change substantially just because he’s switching teams is wishful thinking.
The addition does give the Braves some incredible depth in the bullpen and some much-needed velocity. Those were two things I was hoping they would add this offseason, but it is starting to feel like the signing of Lopez may prevent them from adding a worthwhile starting pitcher. It’s not the worst course of action, but it could come back to bite the Braves if one of Max Fried, Spencer Strider, or Charlie Morton miss significant time in 2024.
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Photo: Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire
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