Former Seattle Mariners outfielder and one-time top prospect Jarred Kelenic has signed a minor league deal with the Chicago White Sox that includes a non-roster invite to spring training, according to multiple reports on Wednesday.

Kelenic, who spent the past two seasons in the Atlanta Braves’ organization, elected free agency in October after the Braves outrighted him off their 40-man roster to Triple-A Gwinnett. The 26-year-old played sparingly for the Braves in 2025, spending most of the season in Triple-A.

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Once considered a cornerstone of the Mariners’ future, the lefty-hitting Kelenic entered the 2021 season as a top-five overall prospect in baseball.

But Kelenic never reached those lofty expectations in Seattle, slashing .204/.283/.373 with 32 home runs and a .656 OPS over 252 games from 2021-23.

Kelenic showed some promise in 2023 while batting .253 with 11 homers and a .746 OPS in 105 games, but his season was derailed after he fractured his foot while kicking a water cooler in frustration.

In December 2023, the Mariners traded Kelenic, pitcher Marco Gonzales and first baseman Evan White to Atlanta for pitchers Jackson Kowar and Cole Phillips.

Kelenic never caught on in Atlanta, either. In 2024, he slashed just .231/.286/.393 with 15 homers and a .679 OPS in 131 games. And in 2025, he hit just .167 with two homers in 24 games with the Braves.

Kelenic was selected out of high school by the New York Mets as the No. 6 overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft. Seattle acquired him as the centerpiece return in a blockbuster December 2018 trade that sent All-Stars Edwin Díaz and Robinson Canó to the Mets and helped kickstart the Mariners’ rebuild.

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