Kelenic reflects on ‘mistake’ injury, rapid recovery

This story was excerpted from Daniel Kramer’s Mariners Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

TACOMA, Wash. -- Jarred Kelenic couldn’t help but laugh at himself when tripping out of the batter’s box last Thursday. It was his first at-bat since fracturing his left foot last month, a hopeful tone-setter to begin a Minor League rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma. And in a fittingly funny moment, the Mariners’ outfielder quite literally stumbled out of the chute.

“I almost rolled my ankle, so it made it look way worse than it was but it didn't hurt or anything,” Kelenic told MLB.com last week at Cheney Stadium. “It just looked bad, but no, it feels good.”

Kelenic is off and literally running his way back to the Majors, potentially as soon as later this week. He’s gone 5-for-12 at Tacoma and played two of his four games in right field, ensuring that the health of his foot clears each test in what the Mariners from the outset intended to be a longer rehab assignment.

That said, his recovery has been rapid.

While he was in a boot for four weeks, Kelenic utilized the Trajekt machine at the club’s Spring Training facility to “keep my eyes going,” while tracking, for fun, whatever pitchers the big league team was facing that night. Once out of the boot, he began directional running exercises, and by the time he began hitting, he was no longer thinking about his foot.

“I tried to just treat it almost like a Spring Training day, where I'm just trying to get my reps in and just try to stay ready the best I could,” Kelenic said.

It’s been a challenging -- and self-inflicted -- seven weeks for Kelenic after injuring himself when kicking a Gatorade cooler in the dugout at T-Mobile Park on July 19 following a frustrating strikeout. Yet the emotionally-charged 23-year-old is accountable for what happened and eager to put the episode behind him.

“I definitely think it's going to be a huge stepping stone for me in my career,” Kelenic said, “just because the decision that I made not only affected myself but it affected the team and the city because I wasn't able to play. Any time that happens, it sucks. You never want to do that again. I never want to feel the way that I did again. So the only way to do that is just not do it again.

“I knew that the biggest thing was that it was going to have to come from me. I got myself in that mess and I was going to get myself out.”

The moment was, in many ways, a microcosm of his young career.

Kelenic grinded through nine pitches against Minnesota’s Jhoan Durán, one of MLB’s hardest-throwing closers, before a called strike three on the outer half. In between, he fouled off four pitches faster than 103 mph and a gnarly curveball before Durán won the battle to send Seattle towards defeat.

It was among Kelenic’s best at-bats of the season. Yet because it ended in a losing effort, the temper that was prevalent in his first two seasons, but that he'd mostly eluded in 2023, took over.

“It was just a buildup of a lot of different things,” Kelenic said. “And it was a mistake. That's all it came down to. It's something that won't happen again, and definitely something that's going to really help me for sure in the long run. I think the better way I can channel [anger], and like I said, I'm just going to use this as a learning opportunity and get back as soon as I can and help the big league team out.”

The context of his stint with Tacoma is drastically different than each of the past two years, when he was here on Minor League demotions after prolonged struggles. But now, he knows that he belongs and that his spot is waiting for him.

“Being away from the team when you're not healthy, it sucks,” Kelenic said. “But it definitely made it better watching them go out and ball out every single night. The month of August that they had was incredible, and it's fun to watch. And it just makes you want to get back up much quicker.”

That return could come as soon as this weekend’s huge series against the Rays, who occupy the top AL Wild Card spot, 6 1/2 games ahead of the three teams vying in this historically close AL West race. If not, he’ll almost certainly be activated during Seattle’s next homestand.

When he is, Kelenic could see increased playing time in right field, where he’s played exclusively at Tacoma when in the field. That would allow the Mariners to allocate more designated hitter time to Teoscar Hernández with some split between lefty-hitting Dominic Canzone and Cade Marlowe in left. The club will also need to make a roster move.

“[Kelenic] is one of our best defensive outfielders and for big stretches, he's been one of our best hitters -- like, we will find a way,” Mariners GM Justin Hollander said. “Even with everybody playing the way they are, he fits on our team and we will be thrilled to get him back.”