White Sox Jarred Kelenic Experiment Ends Before Opening Day

The Jarred Kelenic experiment is over before it started. 

The Chicago White Sox informed Kelenic and catcher Drew Romo on Friday that they won’t make the Opening Day roster, per MLB.com’s Scott Merkin, though both remain in major league camp.

Romo not making the roster comes as no surprise. Even after Kyle Teel’s injury at the World Baseball Classic, Romo was still buried in the depth chart behind Edgar Quero and Korey Lee, with Lee’s established rapport with much of the pitching staff giving him a clear advantage over the 24-year-old. 

However, given Kelenic’s draft pedigree, he was a trendy pick to make the team. His omission carries roster implications. With Kelenic out, Derek Hill and Everson Pereira now appear to have secured spots on the Opening Day roster.

Pereira was acquired in a November trade with the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for right-handers Yoendry Gómez and Tanner Murray. With the outfield a clear offseason priority for general manager Chris Getz, Pereira initially looked like the frontrunner to be the team’s fourth outfielder. 

There’s plenty to like in Pereira’s power and speed profile, which once landed him on MLB’s Top 100 prospect list, but strikeouts remain a concern after a 29% rate in the minors and a 38% mark in the big leagues.

The 24-year-old has just 50 games of MLB experience, and while the early results haven’t been pretty, his minor league track record tells a different story, including a .271/.362/.519 line in Triple-A over the past three seasons. Because the White Sox gave up pitching assets to get Pereira, and he’s out of minor league options, designating him for assignment without a legitimate look was unlikely.

Ultimately, the battle for the final outfield spot came down to Kelenic, Hill, and Tristain Peters. 

Like Pereira,  Kelenic entered camp as a former Top 100 prospect. Unlike Pereira, however, he carries a longer track record of limited production. Still, there was reason to believe a change of scenery could make Kelenic a worthwhile flier for the White Sox.

Kelenic has excellent bat speed, owned a high barrel percentage with the Braves in his last two seasons, and has a rocket for an arm, ranking in the MLB’s 90th percentile in arm strength last season. 

But some of the same issues that have plagued him throughout their career reared their ugly head in Spring Training. Kelenic’s biggest issues have been his high strikeout rate and tendency to chase pitches outside the strike zone. While he connected for a pair of homers and drew five walks across 14 games, he struck out in 12 of his 39 at-bats. 

Meanwhile, Hill has shown much more consistency. In 44 Cactus League at-bats, he is hitting .295 with a .925 OPS. While Kelenic arguably has a higher ceiling, the White Sox clearly like what Hill has to offer. 

He was added to the White Sox roster late in September, after Mike Tauchman went down with a knee injury. At the time, he looked to be a temporary placeholder given that he was arbitration-eligible for the first time in his career. 

For much of his career, he’s profiled as a Quad-A player. He appeared in 95 games across three seasons with the Detroit Tigers and another 13 with the Washington Nationals in 2023. In 2024, he bounced between three clubs,  playing 16 games with the Texas Rangers before being designated for assignment, five with the San Francisco Giants after being claimed off waivers, and 32 with the Miami Marlins to close the season.

While he has never been much of an offensive threat, his speed and defense make him ideal outfilder off the bench, especially in late-game situations. Last season, he went  7-for-7 on stolen base attempts, and defensively, he owns  +10 Outs Above Average in 1,388.1 innings played across all three outfield positions. 

What comes next for Kelenic remains uncertain. But failing to make a White Sox roster already thin in the outfield raises questions about how much of a future he has in the majors. Considering that he will remain in big league camp, the White Sox could keep him in Triple-A to start the year as a potential depth option later in the season.