Jarred Kelenic Sounds Pissed Off That The Mariners Allegedly Manipulated His Service Time Because He Wouldn't Sign A Contract Extension

Abbie Parr. Getty Images.

USA TODAY- Prized outfield prospect Jarred Kelenic told USA TODAY Sports Tuesday that he is a victim of service-time manipulation by the Seattle Mariners, and is being punished for refusing to sign a contract proposal nearly 14 months ago. Kelenic, one of the top five prospects in baseball according to MLB.com, said he was offered a guaranteed contract, but says that declining the deal has kept him off the Mariners’ big-league roster.

“It was communicated to Jarred that had he signed that contract, he would have debuted last year,’’ said Brodie Scoffield, who represents Kelenic. “It was made crystal clear to Jarred — then and now — that his decision not to call him up is based on service time. “There’s no question that if he signed that contract, he would have been in the big leagues."

Said Kelenic, who spent last year in the Mariners’ alternate camp: “It wasn’t just communicated one time to me. It was told to me several times. That’s the God’s honest truth. It got old.’’

Turns on Joe Buck voice

What a DISGUSTING act by the Seattle Mariners lying to the future of their franchise! Nothing grinds my gears more than Major League franchises worth a gazillion dollars trying to bleed every dollar out of players by sentencing them to another year of bus rides and PB&Js in the Minors just to save a buck. If Rob Manfred had an ounce of integrity, he would send Kelenic back to whatever team he was on before the M's acquired him. I'm too busy to look up which team that was right now but I know Seattle didn't draft Kelenic.

Now I can't speak for how the Mariners do things, but I do remember the New York Mets adding Pete Alonso to the 25 man roster before Opening Day in 2019 despite him having some question marks with his glove that could've been worked on in AAA as well as the Mets being own by a couple of broke bois. That's the honorable way to go about the business of baseball and anything else is essentially stealing in my eyes that should result in jail time. Now that the Mets are owned by the richest owner in baseball who actually cares about his employees, you know things will get even better on that front. Kevin Mather may have "resigned" from the Mariners a couple of days ago, but that type of mismanagement usually starts from the top on down, which results in comments like this.

“I was extremely disappointed,’’ Kelenic said. “I worked extremely hard all offseason. And last year, here you have a team that is one game out of the playoffs going into the last weeks of the season. I know for a fact I could have helped that team out. Not just me, but there are other guys who could have helped that team out.

“Not to be given that opportunity was so beyond frustrating. I feel that guys should be rewarded for their play, and have the best guys on the field, especially when you talk about a team that hasn’t gone to the playoffs in 20 years, and your best prospects are just sitting there watching.’’

Fuck it, we are starting the countdown clock to Jarred Kelenic's free agency and getting the "I'm Coming Home" videos ready. To the Mariners fans that have been tweeting me Kelenic videos the last few years, he might as well be wearing a Rumble Ponies jersey instead of an M's jersey because in my mind he is being developed for his true Big League team over the next six years before becoming the latest and greatest star player that will be leaving Seattle once he hits free agency.

Have fun in the Pacific Northwest, Jarred. Enjoy the garlic fries, gourmet coffee, and fresh seafood. We'll keep your spot in center open, which shouldn't be hard to do since it's been open since Carlos Beltran left town (as a player, not a manager).