The Braves announced Monday that they’ve signed veteran outfielder Eddie Rosario to a major league contract and optioned fellow outfielder Jarred Kelenic to Triple-A Gwinnett. In order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster, Atlanta designated righty Zach Thompson for assignment.
Kelenic’s demotion comes amid a calamitously poor start for the 25-year-old former top prospect. He’s opened the season with a .167/.231/.300 batting line and a massive 23 strikeouts in his first 65 plate appearances (35.4%). Those struggles come despite Kelenic being shielded almost entirely from left-handed pitching. The Braves have let him face a southpaw just six times in 2025. He’s hitless in those six plate appearances and has gone down on strikes in four of them.
Atlanta took on a series of underwater contracts through a convoluted sequence of trades in the 2023-24 offseason, effectively eating all of that dead money in order to purchase Kelenic from the Mariners. Seattle unloaded the remainder of its commitments to first baseman Evan White and left-hander Marco Gonzales in the original trade. Atlanta flipped Gonzales to the Pirates for a bit of cash and shipped White to Anaheim while taking back the unwanted contracts of David Fletcher and Max Stassi (the latter of whom was sold off to the White Sox). Atlanta took on more than $20MM in that sequence, and that’s before factoring in the luxury tax penalties required to do so.
It was an expensive gambit, and thus far, it simply hasn’t paid off. Kelenic had a below-average offensive output in 2024 and has clearly taken a further step back in 2025. Since coming to Atlanta, he’s turned in a .222/.279/.381 line with a 30.4% strikeout rate. The Braves, sitting last place in the NL East after a surprisingly poor start, cannot afford the luxury of a more patient approach with Kelenic. They’ve also seen Alex Verdugo and Eli White handily outperform Kelenic on the young season. That pairing will join Michael Harris II, Stuart Fairchild and the newly signed Rosario in the outfield mix while Kelenic hopes to benefit from a reset in Triple-A.
The 33-year-old Rosario will head to Atlanta’s big league roster for a fifth straight season. The Braves originally acquired him from the Guardians in a salary-dump deal at the 2021 trade deadline and watched the longtime Twins outfielder catch fire down the stretch. Rosario played a major role in the Braves’ 2021 World Series run, and they rewarded him with a two-year, $18MM deal to return to Atlanta that offseason. It didn’t pay dividends. Rosario had a brutal 2022 season and was league average at the plate in 2023. He signed with the Nationals as a free agent and wound up back in Atlanta after Washington cut him loose.
The Braves will be Rosario’s second big league stop this year. He very briefly played with the Dodgers, going hitless in four plate appearances before being designated for assignment. Rosario hasn’t had a full above-average season at the plate since 2020, his final year in Minnesota. In 1521 plate appearances for four teams since that time, he’s slashed .232/.278/.396 (82 wRC+). He could conceivably platoon with the righty-swinging White in one corner spot while the Braves await Ronald Acuña Jr.’s return from the injured list.
As for the 31-year-old Thompson, he’ll now be traded or placed on waivers within the next five days. Waivers would be a 48-hour process, if the Braves choose to go that route. Within a week’s time, Thompson will know the outcome of his DFA.
He’s appeared in two big league games with the Braves in 2025 and tossed 3 2/3 shutout innings. In 4 1/3 Triple-A frames, Thompson has allowed six runs (three earned) on seven hits and three walks with a pair of strikeouts. That’s his first action on a mound since 2023. The righty missed all of the 2024 campaign after undergoing surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon.
Thompson has seen major league time in two other seasons. From 2021-22, he pitched 196 2/3 innings, working primarily as a starter, between the Marlins and Pirates. He was sharp in his 2021 MLB debut with Miami but struggled after being traded to Pittsburgh in the Jacob Stallings deal that offseason. On the whole, Thompson carries a 4.36 ERA in the majors. He’s fanned 18.3% of his opponents against an 8.6% walk rate. Thompson doesn’t throw hard, sitting just 91.2 mph with his four-seamer, but he has a full slate of minor league options remaining and could make some sense for a team seeking affordable depth at the fifth spot in its rotation.
The Mariners reportedly once offered Jarred Kelenic a $70M+ guaranteed contract that maxed out at $90M if all options were exercised. He should have taken the money since the food in AAA stinks.
Should be thanked for it daily
Yeah car food in AAA does kinda suckey unless you like the stuckeys. Should try AA food, drunks have more fun than drivers
allegedly, but yes that’s a hard one to come back from
Have to lay some of the blame on his Agent as he likely consulted him to turn down the extension. Is his agent Borass by any chance?
AA running out of ideas.
AA cant do much else since Terry McGuirk has Alex’s hands tied.
Top-8 payroll in baseball. I will never understand that argument. Braves fans pretend like they’re owned by the A’s owner. And this love isn’t due to a lack of spending, it’s due to a lack of options. Exactly nobody is making any sort of significant trade in April. The only free agents left are guys that have gotten DFA’s. Not to mention, in all likelihood, Acuña’s gonna be back in a few weeks, which changes the landscape of the Braves outfield significantly. White and Verdugo are doing just fine for now. Continue running them out there. Let Rosario be a lefty pinch hitter and see if he can run into a few before Ronald comes back. That’s really all this move is. It’s not that deep
Braves are now 10th in payroll. Fact is they have dropped payroll since last year and the lack of team depth is the result… especially on the pitching side. Yes,AA’s hands are tied.
Who did you want them to go get? AA is never going to give out 5-6 year, $150+ million deals to starters, especially after they turn 30, and it has absolutely nothing to do with Terry McGuirk. The risk vs reward on those contracts are so high, there are better options. Like trading for Chris Sale and Reynaldo Lopez and bringing up Schwelly.
Schwelly Balls
Signing a Quintana or Heaney as innings eaters would have been an improvement over the current schmucks at #4 and #5 starters. Only $5m could have gotten one of those. Not replacing Fried/Jimenez/Minter was just a payroll decreasing decision.
I’d rather have Grant Holmes for practically nothing and give AJSS more starts than giving $5 mill to Quintana or Heaney, if you put the context back to December and January before Lopez got hurt and before Strider pulled a hammy. The plan was for our top 5 to be: Sale, Strider, Schwelly, Lopez and Holmes. Sale has been fairly ineffective to this point and Strider and Lopez got injured after opening day. Blaming any of that on AA is asinine and pointless
I’m not blaming AA for the lack of depth in the pitching staff…I’m certain he would have loved to have added depth but again his hands are tied. Not anticipating injuries to this staff is asinine given histories.
Paying $5 million to add guys who aren’t any better than your in-house options isn’t adding depth, it’s adding payroll without moving the needle even a fraction of an inch. There’s a saying about making moves for the sake of make moves. Do you REALLY think this team has any better of a record right now if they signed Heaney or Quintana? I certainly don’t.
I am frequently wrong but I can’t believe Quintana went so long before being signed. He’s not sexy but he put up solid work for the Mets last year and was even smoking hot at one point.
He’s got a great ERA now, but is FIP is in the mid-3’s and is due for quite a bit of regression. The Braves can get similar production from guys they already have over 162 games
I’m a cubs fan and don’t know whether should feel fro the Braves in any form because my team is only 13th in payroll while playing to a much bigger market than the Braves. Now we have Tucker who our conservative owner will let go at end of year and no 3b when given the chance to go out and get one.
Quintana and Heaney aren’t better than Elder and AJSS(this year)???? Huh? What am I missing???
You said he’s not sexy but was smoking hot at one point last year… make up your mind! 😉
The fact that Elder is getting starts over AJSS is a huge mistake that has absolutely nothing to do with Terry McGuirk. The fact of the matter is the Braves absolutely do have in-house options that can replicate Heaney or Quintana’s production without giving out $5 million
I’ve been a Braves fan for 56 years and even through my Braves colored glasses I can’t see what your seeing. Doubtful Lopez makes it back this year….Holmes regression coming due to excessive walks….AJSS just not ready yet. Who else??
I remember when fans were up in arms when the Mariners sent Kelenic back down after spring training a couple years back. Hype is never a guarantee.
the “i can fix him” approach usually does not work.
“I remember when”…I also remember the trade rumors “pundits” who bashed the M’s and claimed they were trying to manipulate Kelenic’s service clock.
It was Team Kelenic or Team Julio with the fanbase.
The Braves are whittling down their available payroll on players that can’t play.
Kelenic has a major league contract, meaning he is paid his major league salary even when optioned.
I think bham’s point is valid. Adding Rosario while having to pay Kelenic his MLB salary is adding another (small) deficit to the payroll.
That’s not really a big deal when they’re paying Evan White $8M for the season, plus have another $M in buyouts upcoming!!! White played 2 games in the Arizona Complex League last year.
When will they finally trade Albies and Acuna to finally fill out the offense with actual substance and no frash?
Your insistence that Acuna doesn’t bring “actual substance” is further proof that you have no ability to evaluate talent. Keep beating that troll drum.
frash = flash + trash
i like it
or chanting that troll chant
What substance has he brought to the team the past 4 years, other than constant injuries, whining, laziness, and showboating?
You trolling yourself by convincing yourself these two players are worth keeping at this point?!
Ozzie is worth more to the Braves than to anyone else. They don’t have any other MLB ready 2B. Plus he costs next to nothing. Acuna won the MVP, so obviously he still has a ton of value.
You are greatly overvaluing Albies. Yes, it is correct that the position is futile league-wide, but with or without Albies, the team sucks. They need to make significant changes for another deep postseason run, not another elimination in 4 or so games like the past 3 postseasons.
Acuna can go win an MVP for another team for all I care. The Braves need to change their culture and he is thee first guy who should be let go. He will bring back a bunch quality options, including 2nd base potentially.
“What substance has he brought to the team the past 4 years”
Had a 9 war season in 2023
TradeAcuna doesn’t believe in pesky facts like 9 WAR, MVP seasons. He dismisses those w/a wave of his little troll fingers while blowing his dog whistle. “Laziness and showboating”……………..acknowledged or not, your “point” is recognized.
Translation: “I don’t like the darker-skinned players.”
did they accomplish anything worthy that year other than being embarrassed by the Phillies?
You people keep tossing your “facts” as if I’m not aware of them. He is not a good for the team and the team will be better in the long run without him. They kinda got used to that though if you not aware because of his injuries and antics.
Ozzie is fine under his current contract, but I wouldn’t be willing to get into a bidding war for his next contract. His defense is becoming a liability, especially his arm. Ahd he’s no longer a good enough bad ball hitter to make up for how much he chases. Love Ozzie and everything he’s done for the Braves, but he’s not the player he once was. Oh, and I’d argue Nacho Alvarez is much more likely a 2nd baseman than he is a shortstop
You mean other than finishing with the best record in all of baseball? Reducing the season down to one 5-game series, then deciding the entire season is a failure, then blaming the entirety of that failure on Ronald Acuña Jr. is absolutely batshit insane. They won 104 games that year!!!!!
Ah, the famous nebulous “culture change” when the culture is established by one of the highest regarded managers in MLB.
No, you are missing the entire point. Acuna is the most valuable player on a team that is losing with or without him him (*), He is similar to Trout in a sense when it comes to the Angels hanging on to a player his caliber and crap around him. Your 104 win season only makes your point worse given they got embarrassed against the Phillies that year (and year before). Then they proceeded to lose in 4 to the Padres last season. The core is not a WS-caliber team.
The * is 2021 when they won the WS without Acuna and because of miracles in Soler and Rosario.
That’s simply not true. Acuña’s play in the first half of 2021, pretty much single-handedly, kept the Braves close enough in the standings to make the trades for Joc and Rosario and Soler, and the core of the core of that 2021 team that won it all was not even close to as talented, top to bottom, as the current Braves roster. Your revisionist history is incredibly tiresome. Why don’t you just say what you really want to say and just own it, instead of all this beating around the bush?
“You People”*
There it is!
Do you have BINGO?
Your “entire point” that the Braves are “a team that is losing with or without him” is laughable. They haven’t had a losing season since 2017—-the year before Acuna’s rookie season. Your “point” is based on your inability to see past the small sample sized playoffs. The luck involved in being healthy after a grueling 162 game season seems to be something you totally ignore. Playoffs are about who’s the healthiest (and most fortunate) in —-at the most—-less than 19 games. WS winners aren’t usually the “WS caliber team”—-especially since the expansion of the playoffs. Too much luck involved in the succession of short series playoff games to count on “the best team” (yeah, quantify that if you can) to consistently be the tournament champ.
Except when you lose repeatedly in the first round, it is no longer just a crapshoot, but a tendency. Beating up on the Marlins/Nats the last 4 seasons helps, though, inflate your regular season success.
Even if you had a point there, which you don’t, anything could, and often does, happen in a 5 game series, how is it all on Acuña? Acuña didn’t leave Elder in to face Harper, he’s not the reason Fried got so sick that he literally lost 15lbs and he didn’t even play against the Padres last year. So please, explain your racism to me like I’m 5 so I can try to understand it.
Your man crush team—the Phils—-also played the same amount of games against Wash and the Marlins. Not being healthy in the first round is bad luck, not a tendency. Keep ignoring facts.
You don’t get the point. No one is blaming Acuna for the team failures. This is a team sport. This team needs more than a healthy Acuna to fight past the DS. Clearly, they have nothing internally and externally to do that. You trade your most valuable asset to retool the team sufficiently.
The same Phillies team that hasn’t won anything? I just want to clarify
“You trade your most valuable asset” when you’re a losing team looking to tear down for a rebuild, not because bad luck w/health issues have stopped you from advancing past the first round in the playoffs the last couple of years. Winners tweak rosters. Losers sell off. The Braves aren’t a losing franchise.
Injuries… just an excuse to block yourself from reality. The Braves are not winners nor losers. They are in the middle, stagnant. They play well enough in the regular season, then repeatedly fumble when it matters. A winning team puts up a fight year in and year out, not fall on its face when competition and pressure heat up.
This season so far is a prime example of a team that falsely believed they are still relevant, made no significant trades or signings, and are now crashing down because they thought it was just a “crapshoot” laswt season.
Enlighten me then. You seem to believe that the only “winning team” is the team that wins the 19 game (max) end of season tournament. Are they then the only team that “puts up a fight year in and year out”? All the other teams in the playoffs didn’t “put up a fight” because they didn’t win the WS? The teams who bested the rest of the regular season field to make the playoffs didn’t “put up a fight” because they didn’t win the short sample size tournament? So, 29 teams don’t “put up a fight” every season according to your warped view of “reality.”
Jarred Kelenic is a huge disappointment. When he was with the Seattle Mariners we were incredibly excited about his potential. It’s seems that his attitude and hubris has affected his ability to reach his potential. Of course it is easy to make that assessment from a distance.
Anger management be the end of hotshots like him and Totkelson
Duran might be heading down that path too
Kelenic seemed like he was a head case in Seattle. Hoped he would relax with age, but harder on himself than any player I’ve ever seen.
This guy will put everything together when he’s a Savannah Banana.
The universe is back to normal. I couldn’t stand watching Rosario in Dodger blue. I’m sure we’ll see him walk-off hit later this year when the Dodgers face the braves.
Kelenic needed to be optioned, maybe playing everyday with no pressure or stress will fix him like it did Duvall a few years ago…. But to sign the corpse of Eddie Rosario to be his replacement on the major league roster doesn’t make a lick of sense unless he’s gonna be the Heredia Pink Sword vibes guy. But knowing Snit he’ll prolly run him out there as his everyday left fielder
I can’t believe it took them this long to send him down. I get that they’re short on OFs this year, but Kelenic has been a black hole in the lineup. Rosario is just a patch, but I’m guessing he’ll be an improvement over Kelenic. Just about anybody would be at this point.
Agree w/you on Kelenic, and you’re right “Rosario is just a patch.” He shouldn’t last a minute past the day Acuna returns. Guess there’s a chance the Braves dfa Fairchild, but I hope not. Fairchild at least brings speed and defense as a 5th of’er. Rosario’s nothing more than an extremely weak lefty bench bat now.
In other news, remember when the Mariners CEO was trashed for saying Kelenic wasn’t ready at the start of the 2021 season? I think he was right.
Heck, Kelenic hasn’t been ready for the start of the 2025 season
Remember when the Mariners got Kelenic for a volatile reliever and a used PEDs shell of Cano?
Brodie is a genius!
Jarred Kelenic is the perfect example of why ALL players should sign early extensions if they are offered. Most prospects do not work out as planned. The only downside is you might a few million on the table, but you can more than make up for it with your next contract.
Of course it should also be seen as a reason for teams to NOT offer them, but that’s another argument.
“A few million” is understating it by a bunch.
If you sign an early extension it can get you $100m, but if you wait, you can eventually get a mega-$300+m deal.
In theory . . .
But if you’re good enough down the line, the money will still be there.
That first contract is life changing money.
Not to discount $100 million, but if you already have $100, the second $100 is the difference between how many generations never need to work.
If you don’t have that first $100, that’s the difference between a life of poverty and unimaginable wealth.
Not my career or money. Just don’t come crying to me when you had the lottery ticket and decided to roll the dice for more.
In November 2019 Seatttle gave a six-year, $24 million extension to first baseman Evan White, who had never played an MLB game and who hasn’t played at the MLB level since playing 84 games in the 2020-21 seasons.
The money the Mariners saved in December 2023 by trading Jarred Kelenic and two underwater contracts (including White’s) to the Braves probably helped the M’s sign standout catcher Cal Raleigh to a six-year extension this spring.
See Jon Singleton.
Evan White took the money…bet he’s glad he did.
Alex been swapping out the bottom 3 roster spots like a mad man this first month.
Thompson, Chavez, Suarez, Rosario, Ian Anderson, Petersen, Verdugo, Fairchild, Tromp, Davis Daniel, Neris, Wiles, Scotty Blewett…
Verdugo’s claimed a spot. Tromp was just a placeholder until Murphy could return from the hbp broken ribs incident. Pitcher churn in the bullpen and last rotation spot happens on a near daily basis to all teams.
Make Atlanta Great Again!
Reunion tour/dumpster diving for AA continues and is starting to get ridiculous!!
nooooooooo!
I’ve heard of desperation moves but signing Rosario reeks of flop sweat. The guy’s been below replacement level in two of the past three seasons. He was just above replacement level in 2023. Maybe the Braves hope he’ll get hold of some steroids and put up halfway decent numbers before he gets caught. Otherwise, the signing is a bad joke.
And yet he is still an upgrade over Kelenic,Fairchild, and anyone else they have in their system..
Steroids are the new/old market inefficiency.
He’s a lefty bench bat with some pop until Acuña gets back in a few weeks. What in the hell are you talking about?
So that’s how bad Kelenic is.
Rosario will be DFA’d when Ronald returns.
4th paragraph I’m sure you meant gamble not gambit
LF has been a nightmare for the Braves quite awhile now. Seems like it would be a fairly easy position to fill with a fairly reliable bat.
Wonder if this trade would have gone differently if Atlanta didn’t fire all their pro scouts. Seems like they are in a really strong place now though.
Liberty Media really neutered AA all he has is the reunion tours and the all-star game to sell the fans.
LM? You mean McQuirk, as they have majority say now.
Lolol Jared kelenic huge over hype prospect. Him and his family hype him up like he was the next big thing when in reality is 4A player at best.. couldn’t happen to better guy who treats people like he better then him
Safe to say Kelenic is a bust. Oh well, Jerry dodged a bullet with him.
Another move showing the braves are desperate
Having watched Kelenic up close as a Mariner fan, I always thought he should take a Valium on game day. He would let a borderline pitch that was called a strike really upset him and it seemed to stay with him for the entire at-bat. As if several million borderline balls that were called strikes haven’t happened for over 100 years. He also whined that the M’s didn’t call him up sooner. I always rooted for the kid, but he didn’t make it easy.
Too high of expectations were put on him way too young. Maybe the coolers in AAA are softer, and won’t break his foot when kicked?
I won’t be sad if I never see Kelenic on the major league roster again. Dude is a head case.
Head case who broke teammates equipment with mariners.. needs to see a shrink
a tiny correction but Rosario actually did have one hit while with the Dodgers (as DH while Ohtani was out).
Can you say bust????
Squad pulling up!
Met fans everywhere breathing a sigh of relief.
While Kelenic (still) could someday become a natural Met-beater, at least that day is pushed off into the future. .
I was a big Kelenic fan… He just mentally can’t relax an play. The dude has a ton of talent but the head stays in the way. Watching him hit a mammoth shot in Wrigley (482ft) was still a big highlight and we happened to be sitting right next to his grandparents at the time
Him hitting an oppo field HR at TMobile park in an inside pitch still boggles my mind
Is Kelenic a failed prospect?
Is milk considered dairy?
AAs favorite movie must be groundhog day, he will trade for Charlie Morton soon.
Never seen such a bunch of Braves whiners. Injuries have taken a toll — to front-line pitchers and an MVP talent. There are still a lot of excellent position players on the team — Harris, Riley, Ozuna, Olson, Albies — and a few starters that may perform bigtime. Patience is required. But bringing in two players that you recently dumped, knowing full well they have looked even worse than they did when you had them…that’s a head-scratcher.
@Goose: Rosario’s just a lefty bench bat roster filler until Acuna returns in a couple of weeks. I suspect Anderson will be dfa before the weekend. Maybe AA thinks he’ll go unclaimed in waivers and the Braves can roster him again at Gwinnett. It IS difficult to believe that Anderson can provide any value to a ML team right now, but the Braves pen is full of pitchers w/out mil options. They seem to be focused on using vets they believe won’t be claimed on waivers (Chavez, Suarez, Anderson, maybe Blewett, etc.) in their efforts to churn the bottom of the pen.
Rosario back for his 3rd tour of duty in Atlanta
Anderson? Rosario? AA is playing 4D chess-World Series or Bust!
The Braves are lying in wait for the Morton and D’Arnaud DFA’s coming soon …