Jarred Kelenic may be turning the corner with the adjustments he’s made this spring for Atlanta. Elsewhere in the league, a gambling scandal is brewing around the sport’s biggest star, Shohei Ohtani, and turmoil continues in the MLBPA.
Kelenic looked good on Wednesday after a really rough start to spring. With two hits and another solid plate appearance, the offseason trade acquisition may finally be seeing the fruits of his adjustments. Our former writer Gaurav Vedak has a nice side-by-side video to illustrate Kelenic’s mechanical adjustments. Many had been growing concerned about Kelenic’s lack of spring performance, and the noise increased as Adam Duvall was brought in to platoon with Kelenic after the team had initially said Kelenic would play every day. It has been an extremely small sample, however, and it only makes sense that a player making big adjustments would take some time to produce. Hopefully today’s strong showing can be a turning point for Jarred as we are in the home stretch towards Opening Day.
Braves News
MLB.com’s Mark Bowman has a really good piece on the hitting adjustments that Jarred Kelenic has been working on this spring, including quotes from Braves’ hitting coach Kevin Seitzer.
Ronald Acuna also started showing out at the plate, along with some promising plate appearances from Kelenic in a high scoring spring training win.
Stephen previewed the division rivals Miami Marlins’ 2024 season.
MLB News
ESPN’s Tisha Thompson has a bombshell report on the scandal involving Shohei Ohtani’s (now former, after being fired Wednesday) interpreter’s alleged extensive illegal gambling, $4.5 million in wire transfers directly from Ohtani’s account to the alleged illegal sportsbook, dramatically revised statements, and a lot of remaining questions.
The Athletic’s Evan Drellich is on top of the latest developments around labor issues in the sport, this time with turmoil in MLBPA leadership.
The Yankees have reportedly reopened discussions with Jordan Montgomery.
The Reds and Blue Jays made a minor trade.
