Jarred Kelenic Started his Rehab Assignment in Tacoma Tonight, Here's How it Went
Will the 2023 Seattle Mariners get Jarry Bonds back soon?
It’s been 43 days since we’ve seen Jarred Kelenic play baseball. On July 19th against the Minnesota Twins, Kelenic struck out, and in a fit of frustration decided to kick a water cooler. That kick fractured his foot, and he’s been on the injured list since.
Since his departure, multiple players have stepped up in his absence, notably Cade Marlowe as well as the recently acquired Dominic Canzone. Very large shoes to fill considering Jarred was slashing .252/.320/.759 with 11 home runs and 12 stolen bases.
Jarred had his first rehab game with the Triple A Tacoma Raniers tonight in the DH position, here’s how it went.
At-Bat One, first inning: Jarred hit a groundball single up the middle on a 84.8 mph changeup from Ronel Blanco. Something to note, Kelenic objectively looked very stiff running to first base, and as I am just a casual observer, I do not know if this is injury related or just him taking it easy for now. Kelenic would advance to second on a single by Zach DeLoach, and would ultimately score due to a 3-run blast from Jake Scheiner.
At-bat Two, third inning: A five pitch AB that saw Kelenic end up striking out on a changeup far outside the zone.
At-Bat Three, sixth inning: Another five pitch AB, but this time Jarred keeps a good eye and walks. Kelenic would advance to third on a Zach DeLoach double, where he still looks a bit ginger running the bases. He would end up scoring on a Jake Scheiner groundout.
At-Bat Four, seventh inning: Kelenic strikes out on four pitches, going down swinging on a slider above the zone.
Kelenic’s box score for the night: 1-4, 1 hit, 2 runs, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts
Jarred getting a hit on the second pitch he’s seen in over 40 days was a positive sign. The main area of observation was, of course, going to be how he ran as the injury was to his foot. In my opinion, it seemed like Jarred was taking it easy and going about 60% speed. This would make sense for a rehab assignment of this nature and I’m hoping that is all it is, him being on a limit of how hard he can press. It still does beg the question, is it just him following orders, or is his foot actually giving him trouble? At this point, we don’t truly know, but I hope it’s the first option.
The word is that Kelenic could return as soon as the beginning of the next homestand, which would be September 11th vs the Angels. Although it would be great to have a healthy Jarry Bonds back, I truly think it’s neccessary to give him the time he needs if he isn’t 100%. Yes, we are in a playoff push, but Kelenic is young, therefore there needs to be a bigger picture outlook on how the Mariners decide to deal with him for the remainder of the 2023 season.
-JT