{"id":741619,"date":"2026-07-03T00:42:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T00:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/741619\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T00:42:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T00:42:17","slug":"former-atlanta-braves-player-becomes-free-agent-after-being-cut-by-new-mlb-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/741619\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Atlanta Braves Player Becomes Free Agent After Being Cut by New MLB Team"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t<img width=\"780\" height=\"483\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/philadelphia-phillies-v-atlanta-braves-atlanta-georgia-april-08-jarred-kelenic.jpg\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" alt=\"Philadelphia Phillies v Atlanta Braves\"   decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>ATLANTA, GEORGIA &#8211; APRIL 08:  Jarred Kelenic #24 of the Atlanta Braves dives and catches a line out by Max Kepler #17 of the Philadelphia Phillies to lead off the ninth inning at Truist Park on April 08, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>The <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"Atlanta Braves\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/atlanta-braves\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"323711\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Atlanta Braves<\/a> are currently looking to take the series from the <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"St. Louis Cardinals\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/st-louis-cardinals\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"323702\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">St. Louis Cardinals<\/a> on Thursday. Atlanta has struggled a bit as of late, but they still hold a slight division lead over the <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"Phillies\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/philadelphia-phillies\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"323706\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Phillies<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>On Thursday, the Braves received some news on a former player who had a rocky tenure with the club.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"Jarred Kelenic\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/mlb\/player\/jarred-kelenic\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"323709\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jarred Kelenic<\/a>, who Braves fans should remember quite well, was recently cut by the <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"Texas Rangers\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/texas-rangers\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"323704\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Texas Rangers<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>More MLB on Heavy:<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/atlanta-braves\/recent-jonah-heim-trade-looks-like-a-massive-mistake\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> Atlanta Braves Recent Trade Looks Like a Massive Mistake<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Jarred Kelenic Officially an MLB Free Agenct<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6110781\" class=\"size-inline wp-image-6110781\" data-lazy-load=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/minnesota-twins-v-atlanta-braves-atlanta-georgia-april-20-jarred-kelenic.jpg\" alt=\"Minnesota Twins v Atlanta Braves\" width=\"761\" height=\"531\"  \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-6110781\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">GettyATLANTA, GEORGIA \u2013 APRIL 20: Jarred Kelenic #24 of the Atlanta Braves advances to third base on a single by <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"Alex Verdugo\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/mlb\/player\/alex-verdugo\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"323708\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Alex Verdugo<\/a> #8 in the second inning against the <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"Minnesota Twins\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/minnesota-twins\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"323705\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Minnesota Twins<\/a> at Truist Park on April 20, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>After clearing waivers, Jarred Kelenic is officially an <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/\" title=\"MLB\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"323924\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">MLB<\/a> free agent and can sign wherever he pleases, or really wherever a team will want his services. Kelenic has really struggled over the past few seasons in MLB. His stint with the Texas Rangers was awfully short.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlbtraderumors.com\/2026\/07\/rangers-rumors-jarred-kelenic-joe-ross-free-agency.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">MLBTradeRumors.com\u2019s Steve Adams<\/a> and Darragh McDonald wrote:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKelenic, 27 later this month, has played for both the <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"White Sox\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/chicago-white-sox\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"323703\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">White Sox<\/a> and Rangers this season. He didn\u2019t hit well in a small sample with either club. He tallied only 10 plate appearances as a Ranger and notched a single in eight official at-bats. All told, he\u2019s batting .213\/.304\/.295 this season and is a lifetime .211\/.283\/.372 hitter in 1557 plate appearances across parts of six major league seasons.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It will be interesting to see if Kelenic signs with a new MLB team. One can assume he will reach a minor league agreement with someone, but he will have to earn his right back to the Majors.<\/p>\n<p>More MLB on Heavy: <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/atlanta-braves\/atlanta-braves-predicted-enter-bidding-war-phillies-for-joe-ryan\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Atlanta Braves Predicted to Enter Bidding War with Phillies for All-Star Starter<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Jarred Kelenic with the Atlanta Braves<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6142881\" class=\"size-inline wp-image-6142881\" data-lazy-load=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/atlanta-braves-v-los-angeles-dodgers-los-angeles-california-april-01.jpg\" alt=\"Atlanta Braves v Los Angeles Dodgers\" width=\"782\" height=\"521\"  \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-6142881\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">GettyLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA \u2013 APRIL 01: <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"Marcell Ozuna\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/mlb\/player\/marcell-ozuna\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"323710\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Marcell Ozuna<\/a> #20 of the Atlanta Braves celebrates his run with Jarred Kelenic #24 during the second inning against the <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"Los Angeles Dodgers\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/los-angeles-dodgers\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"323701\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Los Angeles Dodgers<\/a> at Dodger Stadium on April 01, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>Jarred Kelenic had a very up-and-down tenure with the Atlanta Braves.<\/p>\n<p>He signed with the club back in 2024, and to start his Braves stint, he actually performed alright. In 2024, Kelenic hit 15 home runs with 45 RBI, 18 doubles, and an OPS+ of 87 across 412 at-bats, but his 2025 was a different story, and it ultimately led to his release from the organization.<\/p>\n<p>In 2025, Kelenic hit .167 over 60 at-bats with 2 home runs, 2 RBI, and just 10 hits. His OPS+ last season with Atlanta was 49, and he\u2019s just been unable to hit ever since.<\/p>\n<p>In eight at-bats with the Texas Rangers this season, Kelenic recorded just one hit, and he\u2019s batting \u00a0.213 this season with just three extra-base hits. As the MLBTR.com writers outline, Kelenic is still just 27, and maybe he will be a late bloomer, which happens to be the case sometimes with hitters. He was drafted with the 6th overall draft pick in 2018.<\/p>\n<p>More MLB on Heavy: <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/atlanta-braves\/atlanta-braves-proposed-trade-for-red-sox-jarren-duran-revealed\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Atlanta Braves Proposed Trade for Red Sox\u2019 Jarren Duran Revealed<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/tjfrench\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">TJ French<\/a> covers the MLB for Heavy. TJ is a graduate of the University of Georgia. He has 2+ years of writing experience. &#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<br \/>\nFollow TJ French on X: @tj_french5 <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/tjfrench\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">More about TJ French<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty ATLANTA, GEORGIA &#8211; APRIL 08: Jarred Kelenic #24 of the Atlanta Braves dives and catches a line&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":741620,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2394],"tags":[191,46,4166,5,192,4],"class_list":["post-741619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-atlanta-braves","tag-atlanta","tag-atlanta-braves","tag-atlantabraves","tag-baseball","tag-braves","tag-mlb"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116853273086985320","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/741619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=741619"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/741619\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/741620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=741619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=741619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=741619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}