Braves could bench one of Alex Anthopoulos's favorite talking points soon

Atlanta Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos rarely makes mistakes, and it's far too soon to consider his acquisition of former Seattle Mariners top prospect Jarred Kelenic as one. However, Kelenic has been slumping for much of the second half, and the Braves need positive contributions from their outfield, especially with Marcell Ozuna slumping in the power department.

With that in mind, Kelenic could soon find himself on the bench. In his first 70 games, Kelenic had a .781 OPS and looked like a downright steal. He's much of the reason why Atlanta felt they could ditch Eddie Rosario and Kevin Pillar this past winter. A starting outfield of Ronald Acuña Jr., Michael Harris II and Kelenic looked great on paper, but soon went up in flames once the former suffered a season-ending injury early in the campaign.

A subsequent injury to Harris II later in the season thrust Kelenic into the spotlight as the Braves lone starting outfielder, rather than a supporting member to fill out the lineup. Much like when Kelenic was viewed as the centerpiece of the Mariners future, he struggled to deal with that pressure. Since July 3, he's batting.169 with a .547 OPS, per Sports Illustrated's Harrison Smajovits.

Alex Anthopoulos and the Braves have a tough choice to make with Jarred Kelenic

Before the season, Anthopoulos was quick to flaunt his addition of Kelenic, suggesting that he showed flashes in Seattle that would make him an asset in Atlanta. Heck, he even compared Kelenic to Dansby Swanson.

“I think the biggest thing is that he’s shown flashes of performance. Granted that it hasn’t been for a long period of time, but his minor league performance has been very good,” Anthopoulos said. “I remember Dansby Swanson when I first got here. Obviously was the first overall pick in the draft. I think he had a sub .700 OPS the year before I got here. I think he was right up there in terms of errors and now he’s as good a defender as you’re going to find at shortstop. With some of these guys, they just take a little bit more time.”

Much like with Seattle, perhaps all Kelenic needs is more time. However, the Braves are running out of that previous resource, as they sit two games behind the New York Mets for the final NL Wild Card spot. Injuries have played a key part in their regression, sure, but a side-effect of Atlanta's NL East dominance the last half-decade is that excuses aren't tolerated by much of the Braves fanbase.

If the Braves bench Kelenic, it could be in favor of Whit Merrifield, who has performed admirably since he was claimed off waiver from the Philadelphia Phillies. Merrifield has experience playing a corner outfield spot, and while his defense won't win the Braves too many games, his bat might. Heck, at least he won't be a black hole in the lineup, much like Kelenic has been for the past few months.