The Yankees are taking a shot on Jarred Kelenic, with the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders announcing that the outfielder has signed a contract with the club.
Kelenic lands in New York after a winding week that began with him clearing waivers and turning down an outright assignment to the Rangers’ Triple-A team. He’s now on another fresh start, this time with the Yankees’ top affiliate.
For Kelenic, the move brings him back to New York in an indirect way. The Mets selected him with the sixth overall pick in the 2018 draft, then shipped him to the Mariners six months later in the blockbuster deal that brought Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz to Queens.
Seattle never got the breakout it expected. Outside of a strong 2023 season, Kelenic has had a tough time against big league pitching, hitting .211/.283/.371 in 1571 career plate appearances for the Mariners, Braves, White Sox, and Rangers.
This season has followed a similarly bumpy path. In 2026, Kelenic is batting .219/.313/.288 in 83 plate appearances between Chicago and Texas.
The White Sox designated him for assignment in late May, and he chose free agency before signing a minors deal with the Rangers. From there, the cycle kept repeating: three more DFAs, two more re-signings with Texas on new contracts, and then finally a new destination.
Now he’s with SWB, hoping the change of scenery helps.
The path to the Yankees’ active roster, though, looks narrow. Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham, and Spencer Jones have settled in as the regular outfield trio, Heliot Ramos is filling a fourth-outfielder role, and Jasson Dominguez is at Triple-A. Aaron Judge’s return from a rib fracture adds even more traffic, even if the Yankees use him at DH while easing him back in.
So even when rosters expand on September 1, Kelenic may still be waiting for an opening. Unless another injury creates one, there may not be much room for him to break through.
In Other News...
Rangers Prospect Seong Jun Kim Is Creating A Bigger Debate Than Expected
The Rangers farm system got a lift in MLB Pipelines latest rankings, and a good part of that rise traces back to the clubs 2026 draft class. One of the more interesting names in that group is Seong-Jun Kim, the 19-year-old two-way player from Korea who has begun turning heads after moving up to Single-A Hickory, where his work on the mound has been especially encouraging and his bat has shown enough to keep the discussion alive.
Kims early success has done more than add a promising arm and another athletic bat to the organizational picture. It has also created a bigger question than expected about what his long-term role should be, because his progress this season has come while he continues to operate in both lanes of the game. For a Rangers system that is suddenly drawing more attention, Kim is becoming one of the more compelling development stories to follow. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Outfield Picture Just Got More Complicated Because Of Dylan Dreiling
Dylan Dreiling has quietly turned a strong 2026 season with Double-A Frisco into something bigger than a nice development story. The Rangers No. 13 prospect has taken a real step forward at the plate after a much quieter 2025, and his rise has only added to the sense that Texas has another legitimate bat climbing its system. A hitter regarded as one of the best in the organization, Dreiling already has the kind of pedigree that makes people pay attention, thanks in part to the standout run he put together at Tennessee, capped by College World Series Most Outstanding Player honors in 2024.
For the Rangers, the bigger question is where all of this leaves the outfield picture as Dreiling keeps trending up. Texas has spent plenty of time sorting through its young talent and trying to figure out who fits where, and a bat like Dreilings only complicates that process. He may still be on the longer road toward a big league arrival, with a possible MLB debut in 2027, but the arrow is clearly pointing the right way. If he keeps hitting like this, the Rangers will have another decision to make sooner rather than later. [Read more 🡒]
Jack Leiter Is Creating A Rangers Problem At The Worst Time
Jack Leiters 2026 season has turned into one of the more uncomfortable questions facing the Rangers, and it has nothing to do with his pedigree or long-term ceiling. The right-hander has labored through 15 starts, carrying a 5.29 ERA while dealing with an ankle injury that eventually required arthroscopic surgery, and the result has been a rotation spot that no longer feels secure.
His rehab assignment has not offered much clarity. Leiter has been uneven in the minors, putting up a 9.45 ERA, which only adds to the debate over whether the Rangers can still count on him as a starter right away or need to think about a different role. A recall does not appear imminent, and for a club trying to piece together the rest of its season, that leaves another unresolved decision hanging over the pitching staff. [Read more 🡒]