{"id":73448,"date":"2024-05-16T10:00:29","date_gmt":"2024-05-16T14:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=73448"},"modified":"2024-05-15T23:28:14","modified_gmt":"2024-05-16T03:28:14","slug":"struggling-tellez-pirates-dilemma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/05\/16\/struggling-tellez-pirates-dilemma\/","title":{"rendered":"Struggling Slugger Presents A Dilemma for the Pirates"},"content":{"rendered":"

What to do with struggling first baseman Rowdy Tellez<\/a> is an interesting dilemma for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The big left-handed batting first baseman was signed to a one-year, $3.2 million contract last December. Just two years removed from a 35-home run season with the Milwaukee Brewers, he was expected to provide that kind of power for the Pirates. However, he\u2019s produced mostly strikeouts and pop-ups for the past month. With each failure at PNC Park, boos rain down from the stands.<\/p>\n

So, the question is, what should the Pirates do with Tellez? The answer, of course, is to stick with him. Say what?<\/p>\n

Pirates Have A Dilemma with Struggling Tellez<\/h3>\n

Tellez has been platooning with the right-handed hitting Connor Joe<\/a> at first base in 2024. After Wednesday\u2019s game, Tellez is hitting .176\/.250\/481, 1 HR, and 8 RBI. In mid-April, he looked like a good acquisition. One pundit who shall go unnamed even advocated extending him<\/a> if<\/em> he continued hitting as he was. Now, a month later, Tellez isn\u2019t meeting expectations. On the other hand, Joe has been the Pirates\u2019 best hitter. He\u2019s hitting .286\/.359\/.867, 6 HR, 22 RBI. Joe leads the Pirates in RBI despite not playing full-time. He hit home runs in three consecutive starts from Saturday to Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Manager Derek Shelton<\/a> and general manager Ben Cherington see what the fans see. On Tuesday, Shelton benched Tellez and started Joe at first base against Brewers right-hander Joe Ross<\/a>. Joe was in the lineup again on Wednesday afternoon when the Brewers started a lefty in Robert Gasser<\/a>. Perhaps Shelton is giving Tellez some time off to get him back on track. It will be interesting to see whether Joe will be used as the first baseman every day going forward. Shelton has said they need to get Tellez going and will give him every opportunity. It\u2019s the right course of action.
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