Having already been eliminated from postseason contention, the Pittsburgh Pirates shuffled their roster for the final week of the regular season on Tuesday, and called up infielder Liover Peguero and outfielder Josh Palacios from Triple-A. Veterans Michael A. Taylor and Rowdy Tellez were designated for assignment in corresponding moves.
Usually an eliminated team cutting ties with two underperforming veterans approaching free agency so they could call up two players with a chance to be part of next year's team is a smart and understandable move. In Tellez's case, the Pirates dropped him from the roster four plate appearances short of a $200,000 bonus, per the Associated Press.
For what it's worth, GM Ben Cherington said the looming bonus had "zero factor" in the decision to designate Tellez for assignment.
"We feel like we gave Rowdy lots of opportunity here this year," Cherington told reporters before Tuesday's game, per the AP. "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 the season."
Tellez, 29, hit .243/.299/.392 with 13 home runs this season, and although he was quite productive at times over the summer, the fact of the matter is that slash line usually won't save your job when you're a bat-only first baseman/DH. Tellez was 5 for 43 (.116) in September before losing his roster spot. The Pirates would have been justified cutting him loose weeks ago.
That said, dumping a player four plate appearances short of a $200,000 bonus is not exactly a show of good faith, and is the sort of thing agents and other players will notice. It's a business and relationships matter, and the Pirates made themselves a little less appealing to potential free-agent targets (not that they swim in the deep end of the free-agent pool).
Taylor, 33, hit .193/.253/.290 with five home runs this season. It is unknown whether he was coming up on any bonuses. Tellez finished the season with 421 plate appearances and was owed $200,000 upon reaching 425 plate appearances.
At 73-84, the Pirates have already clinched their sixth consecutive losing season. Pittsburgh has not been to the postseason since 2015. FanGraphs estimates their 2024 payroll at $83 million, second lowest in baseball.
