{"id":89291,"date":"2024-11-10T17:51:06","date_gmt":"2024-11-10T22:51:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=89291"},"modified":"2024-11-10T17:51:25","modified_gmt":"2024-11-10T22:51:25","slug":"pirates-rowdy-tellez-job-search","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/11\/10\/pirates-rowdy-tellez-job-search\/","title":{"rendered":"Slugger Once Had a 35-Home Run Season, But is Now on a Job Search"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>That describes the situation of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/t\/tellero01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-11-10_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rowdy Tellez<\/a>, on a job search after spending 2024 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Well, that\u2019s 2024 minus six days. Tellez was <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/09\/24\/pirates-dfa-tellez-taylor\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">designated for assignment<\/a> with six games remaining in the season, when he was four plate appearances short of a $200,000 bonus, a development as shocking for its frugality as it was for the lack of awareness of its bad optics. Before his release, Tellez hit .243\/.299\/.392, 13 HR, and 56 RBI as the left-handed-batting half of a first base platoon. Those numbers translate to a .301 wOBA and a 90 wRC+, both below average.<\/p>\n<h2>Slugger Rowdy Tellez Once Had a 35 Home Run Season, But is Now on a Job Search<\/h2>\n<p>The 2024 season was an odd one for Tellez, no relation to <a href=\"https:\/\/rowdyroddypiper.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rowdy Roddy Piper<\/a>. At the end of May, Tellez was <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/05\/16\/struggling-tellez-pirates-dilemma\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">hitting<\/a> .177\/.239\/.223 and looked like a certain DFA candidate. The belief the Pirates brain trust had in Tellez was not shared by Pirates fans, who greeted his every move with a chorus of boos. Then in June, Tellez became one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/06\/11\/pirates-rowdy-tellez-hot-in-june\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">hottest hitters<\/a> in baseball. For the month, he hit .333\/.380\/.546 and got the fans on his side with a big home run and three RBI against the Minnesota Twins on June 8. He continued to hit well until September when he went 5-for-43.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\u201cRowdy! Rowdy! Rowdy!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rowdy Tellez just took a curtain call after being booed for weeks.<\/p>\n<p>I love Pirates baseball.<a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/LetsGoBucs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#LetsGoBucs<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/6phBd0yPhi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/6phBd0yPhi<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 SkenesMuse (@PaulSkenesMuse) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PaulSkenesMuse\/status\/1799561750620021047?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 8, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>For his career, Tellez, 29, has hit .234\/.303\/.436, 105 HR, and 319 RBI in seven seasons, including time with the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2017\/08\/15\/toronto-blue-jays-infield-prospects\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Toronto Blue Jays<\/a> and Milwaukee Brewers. His best season was in 2022 when he had 35 HR and 89 RBI for the Brewers despite hitting .219\/.306\/.461.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s willing to step in and pitch too, when needed, to finish games that have gotten out of hand. He\u2019s made four mound appearances over the past two seasons.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HY_2LIds9JU?si=fauvbHvoE-aiQoBG\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>Blue Jay Way<\/h3>\n<p>That Tellez was only a year removed from that 2022 season undoubtedly made him attractive to Pirates general manager Ben Cherington. Additionally, Cherington was familiar with Tellez from his time as Toronto\u2019s vice president of baseball operations. Cherington has tended to give a chance to players <a href=\"https:\/\/throughthefencebaseball.com\/pirates-toronto-connection-paying-dividends\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">he knew<\/a> from his Blue Jays days. That\u2019s worked out well with players like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/p\/palacjo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-11-10_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Joshua Palacios<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/borucry01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-11-10_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ryan Borucki<\/a>. With others, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/a\/alforan01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-11-10_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Anthony Alford<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hatchto01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-11-10_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Thomas Hatch<\/a>, not so much.<\/p>\n<p>Or maybe Tellez was just part of a continuing pattern. After bringing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/v\/vogelda01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-11-10_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Daniel Vogelbach<\/a> to Pittsburgh in 2022 and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/choiji01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-11-10_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jiman Choi<\/a> in 2023, perhaps Cherington was looking for first basemen with the potential to lead the majors in Body Mass Index. At any rate, Tellez\u2019s production wasn\u2019t satisfactory for the Pirates\u2019 needs in 2024. Maybe with a better platoon partner in a stronger lineup, the Pirates\u2019 first base production may have been adequate. But the reality is that it wasn&#8217;t.<\/p>\n<h3>If Not Pittsburgh, Where?<\/h3>\n<p>Despite his late-season release, Tellez is open to signing another deal with Pittsburgh for 2025. Unfortunately for him, the interest doesn\u2019t appear to be mutual. Nor should it be. It seems Tellez will have to take his job search elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>But where? Teams possibly losing their first basemen to free agency include the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/11\/04\/pete-alonso-free-agent-profile\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">New York Mets<\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/a\/alonspe01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-11-10_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pete Alonso<\/a>), Arizona Diamondbacks (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/w\/walkech02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-11-10_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Christian Walker<\/a>), and St. Louis Cardinals (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/g\/goldspa01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-11-10_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Paul Goldschmidt<\/a>). The New York Yankees have <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/11\/02\/yankees-decline-rizzo-option\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">declined<\/a> their option on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/r\/rizzoan01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-11-10_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Anthony Rizzo<\/a>. However, it seems unlikely that any of these teams will look to Tellez as a solution. Nor is it suggested here that they should.<\/p>\n<p>Other teams that wouldn\u2019t mind adding a first baseman include the Houston Astros, Seattle Mariners, and Washington Nationals. Washington could be a possible landing spot. They\u2019re losing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/g\/gallojo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-11-10_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Joey Gallo<\/a> to free agency and don\u2019t have a major-league-ready prospect who could step in. Seattle could be another possibility. They traded <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/f\/francty01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-11-10_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ty France<\/a> at the deadline and will lose <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/t\/turneju01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-11-10_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Justin Turner<\/a> to free agency. Their No. 6 prospect, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/l\/locklty01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-11-10_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tyler Locklear<\/a>, 23, got a look with the big club last year but hit just .156\/.225\/.311 in 16 games. Locklear was <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/06\/24\/jorge-polano-returns-injured-list\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">sent to Triple-A<\/a> Tacoma, where former Pirates manager <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/managers\/russejo02.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">John Russell<\/a> is the manager. There, Locklear cut down on his strikeouts without sacrificing his raw power. He looks like the favorite to make the Mariners as their everyday first baseman. But they may want an experienced left-handed batter like Tellez to spell the right-handed-batting Locklear against the tougher right-handed pitchers.<\/p>\n<h3>The Last Word on Tellez and His Job Search<\/h3>\n<p>If I had to guess, I think the job search will take Tellez to Washington or Seattle. However, after two seasons that have resulted in a -1.0 WAR, he may have to settle for a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Photo Credit: \u00a9 Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>That describes the situation of Rowdy Tellez, on a job search after spending 2024 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Well, that\u2019s 2024 minus six days. Tellez was designated for assignment with six games remaining in the season, when he was four plate appearances short of a $200,000 bonus, a development as shocking for its frugality as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5010,"featured_media":89319,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26,1071],"tags":[67,2517,265,6318,435,208,2402,203,953,5099],"class_list":["post-89291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pirates","category-mlb","tag-anthony-rizzo","tag-christian-walker","tag-joey-gallo","tag-josh-palacios","tag-justin-turner","tag-paul-goldschmidt","tag-pete-alonso","tag-rowdy-tellez","tag-ryan-borucki","tag-ty-france"],"modified_by":"Lewis Masella, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5010"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89291\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}