Seattle Mariners: Ripple Effects of the Jarred Kelenic Situation
Joe Swenson
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The fallout from the Jarred Kelenic, Seattle Mariners’ public dispute ultimately affects one group the most, Mariners fans. Ripple effects from this situation will be felt for a long time.
I’ve written a lot about ripple effects when it comes to baseball, Seattle Mariners, and the rebuild. Let’s do a deeper dive and dissect what is conjecture and what is real. With a little time to reflect and gain perspective, it’s important to understand the facts before we go over the ripple effects.
The Facts
Contract
Kevin Mather said that the Mariners offered Jarred Kelenic a multi-year contract. Jerry Dipoto confirmed that an offer was made that would put Kelenic on the 40-man roster but didn’t guarantee him a spot on the MLB roster.
Jarred Kelenic turned down the offer and allegedly said, “I’ll bet on myself,” to Seattle brass. His refusal to sign doesn’t preclude him from ever getting another offer from Seattle. It also doesn’t change his trajectory.
Playing Experience
Jarred Kelenic has 83 at-bats at AA. In that small sample size, he only hit .253 with a .857 OPS. Those numbers are decent. Kelenic did have six home runs, but he also had six home runs in High A against 169 at-bats. He doesn’t have experience against elite arms or against teams that will scout out his weaknesses and exploit them (see Kyle Lewis, September 2020)
Service Time
If Kelenic were to start the season on the opening day roster, he would earn 2021 as part of his service time. This means that his clock begins immediately, and the Mariners control Kelenic’s contract through 2026.
Should the Mariners keep him out until after April 16th, the organization controls Kelenic’s contract through the 2027 season. That would also be his age 28 season or at his baseball prime.
Baseball teams do this all of the time with big-time prospects. The Cubs were outed by Scott Boras as doing this as a ploy to speed up third baseman Kris Bryant’s clock. Boras alleged Chicago didn’t care about winning, and the war about service time began. For the most part, players don’t air these grievances publicly. Former Seattle Mariners President Kevin Mather opened the door for this to be a public situation versus an in-house concern.
Minor League camp starts when Major League Camp ends
In 2021, there isn’t a combined camp, which is likely why the Mariners have 73 players in spring training this season. Most of the expected AAA roster is in camp because Tacoma begins their season one week after Major League Baseball opens on April 1st.
The minor league camp delay impacts the lower minors and Double-A and any top prospects that weren’t invited to the big league camp.