Mariners Acquire RHP Jackson Kowar & RHP Cole Phillips from Atlanta

Seattle sends LHP Marco Gonzales, OF Jarred Kelenic, INF Evan White and cash considerations to Braves in return

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Justin Hollander announced today from the Major League Baseball Winter Meetings that the Mariners have acquired right-handed pitchers Jackson Kowar and Cole Phillips from Atlanta in exchange for left-handed pitcher Marco Gonzales, outfielder Jarred Kelenic, infielder Evan White and cash considerations.

Seattle’s Major League, 40-man roster is now at 36 players.

“I want to thank Marco, JK and Evan for the contributions to our club. All three played key roles at different stages of our growth over the past several seasons,” said President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto. “As we continue to work through this offseason with a goal of improving our team for 2024 and beyond, we believe the additions of Jackson Kowar and Cole Phillips, as well as the roster and payroll flexibility created tonight, will move us closer to that goal.”

Kowar, 27, appeared in a career-high 23 games with Kansas City this year (all in relief), posting a 2–0 record with 29 strikeouts in 28.0 innings pitched. The 6-foot-5, 200-pound right-hander has struck out better than a batter an inning in his career: 75 career strikeouts in 74.0 career innings pitched.

Overall, Kowar has appeared in parts of three seasons with the Royals (2021–23) after being selected in the first round (33rd overall) of the 2018 First Year Player Draft out of the University of Florida. Kowar has a career mark of 2–6 with a 9.12 ERA (75 ER in 74.0 IP) in 39 career games, including 8 starts. He was acquired by the Braves from Kansas City on Nov. 17, 2023 in exchange for RHP Kyle Wright.

Phillips, 20, was selected in the 2nd round (57th overall) of the 2022 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Atlanta Braves out of Boerne High School (Boerne, Texas). The 6-foot-3, 200-pound right-handed pitcher was ranked as the Braves №7 prospect by MLB.com and №8 prospect by Baseball America prior to the trade.

Phillips has yet to appear in a professional game after undergoing right elbow “Tommy John” surgery in April, 2022 prior to the draft.

Gonzales, 31, made 10 starts for the Mariners during the 2023 season, going 4–1 with a 5.22 ERA (29 ER, 50.0 IP) with 18 walks and 34 strikeouts. He was placed on the 15-day Injured List on June 3 (left forearm strain) and transferred to the 60-day Injured List on July 26.

Gonzales ranks 8th in Mariners franchise history in wins (61), T-7th in starts (148), 10th in strikeouts (631) and 10th in quality starts (73).

In 9 Major League seasons, the left-hander is 65–49 with a 4.14 ERA (411 ER, 893.0 IP) with 238 walks and 665 strikeouts with St. Louis (2014–15, ’17) and Seattle (2017-c). The longest-tenured active Mariners player made his Seattle debut on Aug. 6, 2017 at Kansas City, and was acquired by Seattle from St. Louis in exchange for OF Tyler O’Neill on July 21, 2017. He was originally drafted by the Cardinals in the 1st round (19th overall) of the 2013 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Gonzaga University.

Kelenic (KELL-nick), 24, hit .253 (94x372) with 44 runs, 25 doubles, 2 triples, 11 home runs, 49 RBI, 13 stolen bases and 41 walks, reaching base at a .327 clip, slugging .419 with a .746 OPS in 2023.

Over parts of 3 Major League seasons with Seattle (2021-c), Kelenic has appeared in 252 games, batting .204 with 104 runs scored, 43 doubles, 4 triples, 32 home runs, 104 RBI, 24 stolen bases and 93 walks. He has reached base at a .283 clip, while slugging .373 with a .656 OPS.

Kelenic made his Major League debut with the Mariners on May 13, 2021 vs. Cleveland. The 6-foot-1, 206-pound outfielder was acquired by Seattle, along with RHP Gerson Bautista, OF Jay Bruce, RHP Justin Dunn and RHP Anthony Swarzak, from New York-NL in exchange for INF Robinson Canó, RHP Edwin Díaz and cash considerations on Dec. 3, 2018. Kelenic was originally selected by the Mets in the 1st round (6th overall) of the 2018 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Waukesha West High School (WI).

White, 27, began the 2023 season with Triple-A Tacoma, playing in 2 games before being recalled and placed on the 60-day Injured List on April 9.

The Columbus, Ohio native was selected by the Mariners in the 1st round (17th overall) of the 2017 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Kentucky. He signed a 6-year contract with the Mariners with club options in 2026, 2027 and 2028 on November 18, 2019.

The 2020 Rawlings Gold Glove-winning first baseman has appeared in 2 Major League seasons (2020–21) with Seattle, batting .165 (46x279) with 27 runs, 10 doubles, 10 home runs, 35 RBI and 24 walks.