Tellez is now a free agent after previously being jettisoned from the Pirates' 40-man roster. The 29-year-old has hit just .231/.295/.385 over the last two seasons and is a poor defender at first base, so he could be facing a limited market this winter.
The Pirates designated Tellez for assignment Tuesday.
Tellez slashed .310/.347/.533 from the beginning of June through the end of August, but he's hit only .116/.255/.209 in September and had been seeing his playing time dwindle. The Pirates have elected to move on from the veteran now and give his at-bats to others. Billy Cook is at first base for the Pirates on Tuesday and should share that spot with Connor Joe and Jared Triolo in the final week.
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Pirates' Rowdy Tellez: Out again versus righty
Rotowire
Tellez is not in the lineup for Tuesday's contest against the Brewers.
This is the fifth time over the Pirates' last 10 games versus righties that Tellez has been out of the lineup, as the club is getting a look at some younger players down the stretch. Billy Cook will handle first base Tuesday.
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Pirates' Rowdy Tellez: Idle against RHP
Rotowire
Tellez is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the Reds.
The lefty-hitting Tellez will be on the bench for the fifth time in the last 10 games despite Pittsburgh facing a right-hander in Rhett Lowder. Tellez is 2-for-25 (.080) in his last nine games.
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Pirates' Rowdy Tellez: Getting Wednesday off
Rotowire
Tellez isn't in the Pirates' lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cardinals.
Tellez has gone 0-for-18 with five walks and five strikeouts over his last seven games, and he'll get a chance to collect himself while he sits down Wednesday. Jared Triolo will fill in as Pittsburgh's first baseman while Nick Yorke starts at third.
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Pirates' Rowdy Tellez: Held out of lineup vs. righty
Rotowire
Tellez is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Cardinals.
Tellez is typically absent from the lineup against left-handed starting pitchers, but he'll take a seat Monday for the second time in the Pirates' past three matchups with righties. Connor Joe will step in at first base in place of Tellez, who may be starting to lose some job security after producing a .485 OPS thus far in September.
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Pirates' Rowdy Tellez: Sitting down Saturday
Rotowire
Tellez isn't in the Pirates' lineup Saturday versus the Royals.
Tellez will take a day to recollect himself Saturday after going 0-for-14 across his last four games. His absence will allow Billy Cook to start at first base while batting ninth.
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Pirates' Rowdy Tellez: Out against left-hander
Rotowire
Tellez is not in the lineup for Wednesday's contest versus the Marlins.
The left-handed-hitting Tellez will take a seat as the Marlins send southpaw Jonathan Bermudez to the hill. Connor Joe will be at first base for the Pirates in the series finale.
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Pirates' Rowdy Tellez: Goes deep Saturday
Rotowire
Tellez went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run and two walks across both games of Saturday's doubleheader against the Nationals.
Tellez didn't start in the first game of the twin bill, but he came up as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning and drilled a 443-foot, two-run blast to right field. The first baseman added a walk later in that contest before going 0-for-4 with another walk in the nightcap. Even with the Game 1 homer Saturday, Tellez has had a rough start to September, going 3-for-18 with seven strikeouts over his first seven games.
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Pirates' Rowdy Tellez: Resting against southpaw
Rotowire
Tellez isn't in the Pirates' lineup for Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader against Washington.
Left-hander DJ Herz will start on the mound for the Nats to begin Saturday's twin bill, so the lefty-hitting Tellez will take a seat on the bench while Connor Joe covers first base.
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Pirates' Rowdy Tellez: On bench vs. lefty
Rotowire
Tellez is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Nationals.
Tellez has gone 2-for-13 with two walks and five strikeouts in his past five games but will sit Friday as southpaw DJ Herz takes the mound for Washington. Connor Joe is manning first base and batting sixth.
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Pirates' Rowdy Tellez: Sitting against lefty
Rotowire
Tellez isn't in the Pirates' lineup for Saturday's game against the Guardians.
With southpaw Matthew Boyd slated to throw the first pitch for Cleveland, the lefty-hitting Tellez will step out of Saturday's starting nine. Connor Joe will start at first base and bat sixth.
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Pirates' Rowdy Tellez: Back in Pittsburgh lineup
Rotowire
Tellez (undisclosed) will start at first base and bat fifth in Friday's game against the Guardians.
Tellez had to depart the Pirates' last game Wednesday with an undisclosed injury, but he's ready to go after Thursday's team off day. He has slashed .276/.304/.434 with a couple home runs so far in August.
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Pirates' Rowdy Tellez: Makes early exit Wednesday
Rotowire
Tellez was removed ahead of the eighth inning of Wednesday's 14-10 loss to the Cubs with an apparent injury, Danny Demilio of PittsburghBaseballNow.com reports. He went 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run before departing.
Tellez may have hurt himself at some point in the bottom of the seventh, when he reached base after legging out an infield single. He stayed in the game to run the bases, only to remain in the dugout when the Pirates came out to play defense in the top of the eighth. The Pirates should provide an update on Tellez's status later Wednesday or following Thursday's off day.
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Pirates' Rowdy Tellez: Goes deep in loss
Rotowire
Tellez went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Saturday's 10-2 loss against the Reds.
Tellez took Julian Aguiar deep in the second inning for his 11th home run of the season. Tellez got off to a rough start this season, but since June he's batting .298/.340/.524 with 10 home runs and 36 RBI over 62 games. The 29-year-old is a mainstay in the middle of the Pittsburgh order against right-handed pitching and will continue to play on the strong side of the platoon at first base.
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Pirates' Rowdy Tellez: Reaches base three times
Rotowire
Tellez went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored Friday against the Reds.
Tellez has struggled to hit for power since the All-Star break, as he has only nine extra-base hits -- including two homers -- in 28 games. As a result, he's driven in only 11 and scored seven runs in that span. On a positive note, he's hitting .268 across 82 at-bats so far in the second half, improving his average to .249 on the campaign.
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Pirates' Rowdy Tellez: Idle against southpaw
Rotowire
Tellez is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rangers.
For the second day in a row, the lefty-hitting Tellez finds himself on the bench while the Rangers send another southpaw (Andrew Heaney) to the bump. Connor Joe will fill in for Tellez at first base.
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Pirates' Rowdy Tellez: Resting versus LHP
Rotowire
Tellez isn't in the Pirates' lineup for Tuesday's game against Texas.
With southpaw Cody Bradford set to toe the slab for the Rangers, the lefty-hitting Tellez will take a seat on the bench to begin Tuesday's game. Connor Joe will cover first base for the Pirates instead while batting fourth.
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Pirates' Rowdy Tellez: Homer, three RBI in win
Rotowire
Tellez went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double and three RBI in Saturday's 7-2 win over the Mariners.
Tellez gave the Pirates the lead on a two-run homer in the fourth inning and later added an RBI double in the seventh. While the long ball was his first since July 24, the first baseman has hit safely in eight of his last 10 games. He will continue to sit against left-handed pitchers but is batting .250 with 10 home runs and 42 RBI across 333 plate appearances in 2024.
