Braves settle with arbitration-eligible players Kelenic, Lee

ATLANTA -- Jarred Kelenic and Dylan Lee avoided arbitration when they each reached an agreement with the Braves on Thursday.

Kelenic will make $2.3 million this year and Lee agreed to a $1.025 million salary for the upcoming season. Teams had until Thursday to either reach an agreement or exchange salary figures with their unsigned arbitration-eligible players.

With these two agreements, the Braves have signed all of their arbitration-eligible players.

Kelenic has spent the past few years attempting to live up to the lofty expectations that existed when he ranked as one of MLB’s top 10 prospects as recently as 2021. The 25-year-old outfielder hit 15 homers and enjoyed a couple of good stretches last year, but he ended the season with a .679 OPS and was relegated to a bench role by the end of August.

With Ronald Acu?a Jr. likely to miss most of the season’s first two months while recovering from knee surgery, Kelenic should get plenty of early opportunities to show whether he’s capable of being an everyday player. He hit .236 with 14 homers and a .711 OPS against right-handed pitchers last year, while batting .206 with one homer and a .516 OPS against lefties.

Lee will be given a chance to continue playing a key role in Atlanta’s bullpen. The lefty posted a 2.11 ERA over 52 appearances (59 2/3 innings) for Atlanta in 2024.