Veteran first baseman Rowdy Tellez has made the Texas Rangers management look like geniuses.
The Rangers, who find themselves third in the AL West Division, seven games behind the leading Houston Astros, went out and recently signed a veteran middle-of-the-order power bat in the slugging 30-year-old Tellez, who on July 4th agreed to a minor league contract with Triple-A Round Rock.
Rowdy Tellez Goes Yard In Series Debut With Rangers
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Tellez Released In June By the Seattle Mariners
Tellez, drafted in 2013, 30th round by the Toronto Blue Jays, has played for the Blue Jays, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates, and, most recently, 62 games this season with the Seattle Mariners before getting released on June 26th. In his one and only season as a Mariner, Tellez found himself hitting .208 with 11 home runs and 27 RBIs along with one stolen base before receiving the news.
Tellez Hits a Homerun Against the Detroit Tigers
Looking for another chance to play in the majors after signing that Triple-A contract with the Rangers, Tellez finally got that much-awaited phone call, and on Friday, July 18th was in the Rangers’ line-up at Globe Life Field for their 2-0 win against the Detroit Tigers.
A day after going 0-3 including a strikeout, Tellez gave the home crowd plenty to cheer about when in the second inning with a 3-0 count, this burly veteran slugger enjoyed his finest moment with the Rangers as he turned on a 97.4 mile per hour four seam fast ball from Tigers rookie starter Kumar Rocker for a second inning three run blast to right center field for a 3-0 Rangers lead.
“My job is just to come here and impact the team in any way I can,” Tellez said prior to making his Rangers debut. “Whatever (Rangers manager Bruce Bochy) asks me to do, whatever they need me to do, I’m going to come out here and give everything I got and do what I need to do. We’re in a playoff push coming out of the second half. I just want to impact the team and be able to fill any hole they need me to.”
Tellez was called up from the minors after another veteran, first baseman Jake Burger, went down with a quadricep injury. While Tellez might not exactly be a gold performer at first base or be the fastest player, he still, even at his age, is more than capable of providing that much-needed power in the middle of the batting order.
Tellez Has Breakthrough Season With Milwaukee Brewers
That power was never more on display than in 2022 when, with the Brewers, Tellez slugged 35 home runs along with 89 RBIs and hit for a .219 batting average. During that magical season, Tellez put his name in the Brewers record books when on May 4, 2022, he slammed two home runs and added a double and single in a lopsided 18-4 win against the Cincinnati Reds. The most amazing thing bout his performance was that Tellez set a franchise record with 8 RBI’s in one game.
Last month, when Tellez was designated by Seattle for assignment, it was explained that the move was made to bring back outfielder/first baseman Luke Raley from the injured list and keep outfielder Dominic Canzone on the roster.
Not the First Time Tellez Has Been ReleasedÂ
When Tellez was designated by Seattle for assignment, it was explained that the move was made to bring back Raley from the injured list and keep Canzone on the roster. Unfortunately, being released isn’t a new experience for Tellez, who, last September, after hitting .243 with 13 homeruns and 56 RBIs, was released by the Pirates. What made this move so controversial was that Tellez fell only four plate appearances short of earning a $200,000 bonus.
“We feel like we gave Rowdy lots of opportunity here this year,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said. “To his credit, he fought through some difficult times earlier in the year and fought his way out of it. Had periods of success and periods of frustration. This is just where we got to in this season.”
Including his two games with the Rangers, Tellez has in his career produced 523 hits, 117 home runs, 349 RBIs, five stolen bases, and a .232 batting average in 2,251 at-bats.
Without a doubt, Tellez is a talented hitter who can play a big role in leading the Rangers to a successful second half and perhaps, when October rolls around, an American League West title.
Main Image: Jim Cowsert-Imagn Images
