Current and former Braves headline 'most intriguing offseason additions' list from MLB

The Atlanta Braves have both added and subtracted from the major league position player group, as president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos made a series of trades to bolster the lineup and rotation.

And MLB.com wants to watch what two of those traded players do in 2024.

New Braves leftfielder Jarred Kelenic and former Braves infielder turned outfielder turned Boston Red Sox infielder Vaughn Grissom are the first two players to come up in the story.

Jarred Kelenic's addition comes with significantly lower expectations

The former top prospect, still only twenty-four, has dealt with significant highs and lows in his three years in the majors. After batting a combined .168 in his first two major league seasons, Kelenic broke out in a major way to open 2023, batting .308/.366/.615 with seven homers in the month of April for the Mariners.

But a prolonged slump coupled with a broken foot, caused when he frustratedly kicked a water cooler in the dugout after a strikeout, served to throw ice water on that hot start and ultimately open up Seattle to the possibility of moving him.

Said MLB.com writer Brian Murphy:

Controlling his emotions and the strike zone will be crucial for Kelenic, a top-five prospect in 2021 according to MLB Pipeline. Atlanta has shown how much it believes in its new left fielder, and his big jumps in hard-hit rate (45.6%) and sweet-spot rate (38.4%) last year signal that he is capable of making the Braves' already formidable lineup that much more dangerous.

Atlanta's preference for hard contact and excellence in teaching strike zone discipline means Kelenic's positioned to potentially surge in production in 2024, especially when starting the season off in the lower third of the lineup with zero expectations, compared to batting cleanup in Seattle and being expected to help carry the offense.

Vaughn Grissom's finally "the man" at second base

Murphy's also intrigued with Grissom, who was the sole return to the Boston Red Sox for moving on from oft-injured starting pitcher Chris Sale (and covering $17M of his 2024 salary, to boot).

Things to watch will be Grissom's defense at second base and whether he can hit for power, both areas where Boston struggled in 2023.

Although 2023, his age-22 season, wasn't much to write home about, Grissom did show plate discipline beyond his age, featuring low whiff and K rates. He looks like a seasoned hitter, and Fenway should help overall offensive production. Now he needs to prove that he can provide serviceable defense at second base and tap into more power at the plate. Grissom has minus-5 outs above average in just 44 career games at the keystone position, and he hasn't homered in his previous 121 at-bats, dating back to September 2022. The Red Sox believe there is more thump in his bat. If so, he and Trevor Story will form a quality up-the-middle duo.

Interestingly, Grissom debuted at Fenway Park in 2022 and hit his first career homer there, a shot over the Monster.

These two players will be linked for a while

Atlanta's stated offseason plan quickly went from announcing a move of Grissom to left field to trading for Kelenic and shipping Grissom off to Boston.

Given how much Grissom was beloved by Braves fans, there's going to be a link between those two players for a while in the minds of many, one that will only be exacerbated by struggles of either one at the major league level either next year or in coming seasons.

Let's hope this is the rare set of trades that are wins for everyone involved.

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