{"id":7676,"date":"2026-08-30T10:40:54","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T10:40:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7676"},"modified":"2026-08-30T10:40:54","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T10:40:54","slug":"yankees-take-shot-on-former-top-mets-prospect-jarred-kelenic-with-career-in-jeopardy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7676","title":{"rendered":"Yankees take shot on former top Mets prospect Jarred Kelenic with career in jeopardy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Just a few days after the Yankees added former Mets farmhand Michael Fulmer, the club took a no-risk flier on Jarred Kelenic.<\/p>\n

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On Saturday, the Yankees signed the former Mets (and Mariners) top prospect to a minor league deal, and the outfielder stepped right into the lineup for Triple-A Scranton\/Wilkes-Barre and went 3-for-5.<\/p>\n

Kelenic has served as a cautionary tale for how difficult the transition is from the minors to the majors, a rising-star prospect who has had repeated chances in MLB and not found much success.<\/p>\n

Locally he is best known for the December 2018 trade in which the Mets \u2014 who selected him sixth overall in that year\u2019s draft \u2014 sent him to Seattle in the package that brought back Edwin D\u00edaz and Robinson Can\u00f3.<\/p>\n

As Kelenic shot through the Mariners system, it seemed as if the swap would haunt the Mets for years. <\/p>\n

And yet several failed major league stints and teams later, Kelenic has a lifetime .211 average and .655 OPS in 443 games with the Mariners, Braves, White Sox and Rangers.<\/p>\n

Now 27, Kelenic again did not hit with the major league White Sox or Rangers this season but slashed a combined .310\/.408\/.584 in 63 games in Triple-A. The Rangers gave up on the outfielder Sunday, when he was designated for assignment and soon after became a free agent.<\/p>\n

A lefty hitter who can play the corner outfield spots, Kelenic projects as depth for the Yankees, who have lefties Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham and Spencer Jones in the majors and Duke Ellis, Yanquiel Fern\u00e1ndez and switch-hitting Jasson Dom\u00ednguez in the minors.<\/p>\n

As Max Fried was activated to start the 9-2 win in the nightcap, the Yankees designated righty Justin Topa for assignment.<\/p>\n

The veteran Topa was signed Aug. 14, brought up Tuesday and pitched three innings allowing one unearned run \u2014 including a scoreless sixth in Saturday afternoon\u2019s 6-0 loss to the Red Sox \u2014 before becoming a roster-crunch victim.<\/p>\n

Elmer Rodr\u00edguez will get another start.<\/p>\n

Coming off the best major league outing of his career, the top prospect will get the ball Monday in Anaheim, Boone said.<\/p>\n