SEATTLE (AP) — The Atlanta Braves acquired outfielder Jarred Kelenic, pitcher Marco Gonzales and infielder Evan White from the Seattle Mariners on Sunday night for right-handed pitchers Cole Phillips and Jackson Kowar.

The move added a veteran lefty to the Braves pitching staff, along with Kelenic, who at one time was one of baseball’s top young prospect. In the process, Seattle cleared a chunk of salary off its payroll, giving up on Kelenic in order for the Braves to take the contracts of Gonzales and White.

Seattle is sending Atlanta $4.5 million on Aug. 1 as part of the trade. Gonzales is owed $12 million for the 2024 season, while White has $17 million in guaranteed money remaining on his contract.

“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,” Seattle President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto said in a statement.

Kelenic is the big piece going to Atlanta in the deal. Once the prized prospect of the New York Mets organization, Kelenic was traded to Seattle in December 2018 when the Mariners sent Robinson Cano and Edwin Díaz to the Mets. At the time, Kelenic was one of the top prospects in the minors, but his transition to the majors has gone through rough patches.

Last season was Kelenic’s first extended stretch as a starter with the Mariners and even that season ran into growth problems when he missed almost two months after fracturing his foot kicking a cooler in the dugout. Kelenic ended the season hitting .253 with 11 homers and 49 RBIs in 105 games.

Gonzales was the longest tenured member of Seattle’s roster after being acquired via trade from St. Louis in 2017. For a while, he was at the top of Seattle’s rotation before struggling at times the past two seasons.

Gonzales, 31, started 148 game over seven seasons with Seattle and had a 4.08 ERA during that time. Gonzales pitched in only 10 games last season before undergoing surgery to relieve pressure on a nerve in his left arm. He’s expected to be ready for the start of spring training.

White, 27, has seen his career defined by injuries since agreeing to a $24 million, six-year contract in November 2019 before his big league debut. He won a Gold Glove during the truncated 2020 season for his play at first base, but has not been able to stay healthy in the years since. White has not played in the majors since appearing in 30 games in the 2021 season. He is owed $7 million next year and $8 million in 2025 plus a $2 million buyout of a 2026 club option.

Kowar, 27, has major league experience and pitched in 23 games as a reliever for Kansas City last season. But Phillips is the piece of the trade that could be useful in the future for Seattle.

The 20-year-old was a second-round pick in the 2022 draft and was one of the top 10 prospects in Atlanta’s farm system even though he has yet to pitch in a professional game. Phillips underwent Tommy John surgery prior to the 2022 draft and has yet to make his professional debut.

Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos told Atlanta media on a conference call that the trade completes his search for a left fielder to replace Eddie Rosario, whose $9 million club option was declined.

Kelencic will get a chance at the job along with infielder Vaughn Grissom, who will begin learning to play outfield in the Puerto Rican winter league. Grissom has struggled defensively as a shortstop but shown promising offensive skills, so the Braves are trying to find a way to get his bat in the lineup. The right-handed hitter could wind up in a left field platoon with Kelenic, who bats from the left side, while also backing up in the middle infield.

Gonzales provides another back-end option for a rotation that struggled to lock down a full complement of pitchers during an injury plagued 2023 season. The Braves also are looking to give free agent signee Reynaldo López a shot at starting after he worked exclusively as a reliever the past two seasons, though those plans could change if Anthopoulos is able to acquire another front-line starter to join a rotation that also includes Spencer Strider, Max Fried, Charlie Morton and Bryce Elder

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Michael Penix Jr. passed for 319 yards and a touchdown, Dillon Johnson ran for 152 yards and two TDs and No. 3 Washington wrapped up a spot in the College Football Playoff, beating No. 5 Oregon 34-31 on Friday night in the Pac-12 Championship.

The game was likely the final Pac-12 Championship given 10 of the 12 teams will be playing in different conferences next season. Only Oregon State and Washington State will remain as they try to find a way to keep the tradition-rich conference together in some form.

Washington (13-0) was the last Pac-12 team to make the CFP — in the 2016 season.

RELATED: Oregon State, WSU, Mountain West agree to football scheduling deal in 2024

The Huskies, who were 9 1/2-point underdogs, scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to take a 34-24 lead. Oregon (11-2) scored a late touchdown for the final score, but failed to recover the onside kick, ending the Ducks’ six-game winning streak.

Two Washington receivers had more than 100 yards — Jalen McMillan (nine receptions for 131 yards) and Biletnikoff finalist Rome Odunze (eight for 102) who was returning to his hometown.

Oregon’s Bo Nix, the favorite entering the game to win the Heisman Trophy according to FanDuel Sportsbook, passed for 239 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 69 yards.

If it was indeed the final title game for the conference, it was quite a way to go as Oregon and Washington again played a high-scoring game with big plays throughout. The Huskies won their regular-season meeting 36-33 in Seattle.

Washington took a 20-3 lead before the Ducks scored a touchdown with nine seconds left to get to within 10 points.

That score got Oregon going, converting two fourth downs on the opening drive of the second, including a 2-yard touchdown from Nix to tight end Terrance Ferguson to get within three points. The Ducks took the lead at 24-20 with 1:51 left in the third quarter on Jordan James’ 6-yard TD run.

The lead didn’t last long as Washington scored on its next drive to take the lead for good.

This is the second time both teams have been ranked in the top 10 when they have played each other. The other time was the first meeting this season.

Washington improved to 3-0 in the Pac-12 Championship; Oregon is 4-2.

Thirty-two female athletes filed a lawsuit against the University of Oregon on Friday that alleges the school is violating Title IX.

The plaintiffs, who are all either on the varsity beach volleyball team or the club rowing team, are accusing the school of “depriving women of equal treatment and benefits, equal athletic aid, and equal opportunities to participate in varsity intercollegiate athletics.”

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Eugene, Oregon, seeks correction of the alleged violations and unspecified damages.

The lead counsel for the women is Arthur H. Bryant of Bailey & Glasser, who is known for legal efforts to enforce Title IX, the federal law that prohibits gender inequality by educational institutions receiving federal funds.

RELATED: Oregon State, WSU, Mountain West agree to football scheduling deal in 2024

The beach volleyball players say they do not have facilities for practicing or competing. Instead, the team must practice and compete at a public park with inadequate facilities.

“For example, the public park lacks any stands for spectators, has bathrooms with no doors on the stalls, and is frequently littered with feces, drug paraphernalia, and other discarded items,” the players allege in the lawsuit. “No men’s team faces anything remotely similar.”

Oregon released a statement that said an on-campus facility for beach volleyball is currently in the development stage. It also said Oregon is “committed to providing a quality, positive experience for all our student-athletes.”

Many of Oregon’s men’s teams, including the fifth-ranked Ducks football team, have state-of-the-art facilities, take chartered flights to games, eat catered food and have other amenities. The Ducks were playing Friday night in the Pac-12 championship game against Washington in Las Vegas.

Of the 20 varsity sports at Oregon, only beach volleyball does not provide scholarships, although NCAA rules allow the school to give the equivalent of six full athletic scholarships to the team. Players say they wear hand-me-down uniforms and are not provided with any name, image and likeness support.

“Based on the way the beach volleyball team has been treated, female athletes at Oregon do not need much food or water, good or clean clothes or uniforms, scholarships, medical treatment or mental health services, their own facilities, a locker room, proper transportation, or other basic necessities. Male athletes are treated incredibly better in almost every respect,” team captain and lead plaintiff Ashley Schroeder said in a statement.

Schroeder said the team could not practice this week because someone had died at the park.

In its statement, Oregon said it provides “all student-athletes, including our female athletes, with academic support, tutoring, student-athlete development, medical care, mental health support, meals and snacks, and nutrition and sports training.”

The school also said it has previously committed to increasing scholarships.

“The university believes it complies with Title IX. UO has not yet been served a copy of the complaint, and therefore we are unable to comment on any further specifics,” the university’s statement said.

Beach volleyball has been recognized by the NCAA since 2010 and Oregon’s program was founded in 2014. The first Division I championship was held in 2016.

The rowers say the university fails to provide equal opportunities for athletic participation by not having a varsity women’s rowing team.

The lawsuit, which sprang from an investigation published in July by The Oregonian newspaper, cites Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act statistics which show that 49% of the student-athletes at Oregon are women, but only 25% of athletics dollars and 15% of its recruiting dollars are spent on them.

NCAA President Charlie Baker has previously addressed possible inequities in NIL deals, saying he was concerned about potential Title IX implications because NIL opportunities seem to be disproportionately going to male athletes.

The NCAA lifted its ban on college athletes being able to earn money for sponsorship deals and endorsements in 2020.