The Pirates announced that they have designated first baseman Rowdy Tellez and outfielder Michael A. Taylor for assignment. Those two active roster spots will go to infielder Liover Peguero and outfielder Joshua Palacios, who have both been recalled from Triple-A Indianapoli. Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported about Tellez on X shortly before the official announcement. The club’s 40-man roster count drops to 38.
Both Tellez and Taylor were signed to modest one-year deals in the winter as the Bucs tried to supplement their roster. Tellez got a $3.2MM guarantee while Taylor got $4MM. Unfortunately, neither signing worked out well for the Bucs, as both players have struggled this year. With just a handful of games left in the season and the club well out of contention, the Pirates have bumped them off and will presumably give more playing time to younger guys who could perhaps factor into next year’s club.
Tellez, 29, was non-tendered by the Brewers after a poor 2023 season. He hit 13 home runs and slashed .215/.291/.376 for a 78 wRC+. But since he had hit 35 home runs in 2022 with a .219/.306/.461 line and 110 wRC+, it wasn’t totally crazy for the Bucs to expect a bounceback.
In the end, Tellez had an up-and-down season in 2024 that reflected his inconsistent results in prior years. His Pittsburgh tenure started terribly, as he hit .177/.239/.223 through the end of May. He then got scorching hot for three months, hitting .310/.346/.533 from June to August. But he’s gone cold again lately with a .116/.255/.209 performance in September.
Put together, Tellez has a .243/.299/.392 line and 89 wRC+ on the year. He isn’t considered a strong defender and isn’t a burner on the basepaths, so he doesn’t really offer much value if he’s not producing with the bat. Both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference consider him to have been below replacement level this year. The Bucs will likely spread the first base playing time around to a few different guys for their remaining games but the position should be a target area for them to upgrade this winter.
It’s also possible there’s a financial motivation for moving on from Tellez. Per Ethan Hullihen on X, Tellez would have unlocked a $200K bonus by getting to 425 plate appearances and is currently at 421.
Taylor has always been an excellent defender in center field but with inconsistent offensive results. Last year was perhaps his best showing at the plate, as he hit 21 homers for the Twins, but he still struck out 33.5% of the time. His offense cratered this year, as he struck out 35% of the time and slashed .193/.253/.290 for a wRC+ of 50. Among players with at least 300 plate appearances this year, only Brandon Drury and Eddie Rosario have a lower wRC+ mark. Oneil Cruz, who struggled defensively at shortstop, has been moved to center field lately.
The Bucs will put both players on waivers in the coming days but they are sure to go unclaimed. They won’t be postseason eligible with any claiming team and their recent performance won’t give them any appeal for the remaining games of the regular season. Each player has enough service time to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency, so they will likely be going into offseason mode a few days ahead of schedule.
hiflew
Is this the end for him or does someone else take a shot? I think he might be headed for Asia in 2025.
good vibes only
I agree, he’s probably headed to Asia.
YourDreamGM
926 916 813 June July August ops for Rowdy after getting non Pirates hitting instruction. If you don’t mind his lack of hustle he will be on your radar if you need a 1b.
JRamHOF
Tellez and MAT are Royals
YourDreamGM
They are getting a weeks head start on vacation.
AL B DAMNED
He should team up with Daniel Vogelbach and go to the WWE! “The Big Swingers” tag team!
avenger65
DAMNED: I just hope Rowdy doesn’t start stress eating over being released.
Dice 66
That should happened 3 4 months ago! Bucs seem to do everything backwards. Sounds like Neil Huntington crap! Thought Ben was better than that.
mlb1225
At least Tellez turned things around after a bad Apil and May. But can’t say the same about MAT. With how good Billy Cook has looked defensively, he should have been up in early August. Even Oneil Cruz looks great in CF right now.
YourDreamGM
Who would have played cf 1b? Rowdy was good and unfortunately MAT wasn’t but was their only cf.
TheMan 3
The other first baseman who should have also been released, worthless Connor Joe.
What did they have to lose other than the next 6 games?
TheMan 3
if Ben was better than that he wouldn’t be supporting bringing back Shelton
TJECK109
What a joke the Pirates are. I mean these guys have underperformed but cutting them with 6 games to go is disgraceful.
Trying to save 6 days of salary?
The ones that should be out of jobs is GMBC and Shelton
RevitalizedOldDude
They would have added Grandal too, but Skenes has one more start.
TheMan 3
Bart caught Skenes’ last start
mlb1225
They only save money if a team claims them, which I’m not sure a team will at this point.
TJECK109
Exactly so really just a slap to the veterans. Sorry I know they sucked but not really the way you treat players with 6 games to go. Not going to learn a thing out of the guys recalled that you don’t already know.
bucsfan0004
They save 200k on Tellez
alwaysgo4two
They’re not saving any salary by DFAing them. They’ll go unclaimed and maybe a team needs defense or a HR bat to squeeze into the playoffs….but I doubt such a team exists right now.
TJECK109
I 100% agree they won’t go claimed. Just absolutely bush league management with 6 games left.
Black_Pearl
Don’t disagree, but when MLB reduced the September roster from 40 things like this happen. Young players need at-bats.
TJECK109
6 games left… what are you going to learn?
TheMan 3
you’re going to learn that both Shelton and Haines shouldn’t have jobs next season
YourDreamGM
It’s one week. Gets a few players playing time. This is common procedure and wouldn’t come as a surprise to these 2 veterans. When you sign a 1 year deal with a non lock playoff team you sign up for this.
njbirdsfan
Why don’t you rip the Reds for cutting Bell loose then?
I mean, we get it, they suck and are cheap. Find some other horse to beat.
Cave
Liover is quite possibly my favorite player right now. I hope he gets a longer look in 2025.
theumpsrbad
These moves should have happened Sept. 1 if not before as far as Liover. IKF was a decent pick up but he’s not an every day ss.
YourDreamGM
You his mom? Dating him? Are you Liover? Interesting favorite player.
TheMan 3
NJBirdsfan, the Bucs suck because their owner is cheap. They have the next lowest payroll in baseball. Fans deserve better
Unclemike1525
They cut Tellez? What are they going to do for pitching in their next blowout? That 45 MPH heater was deceiving.
wvsteve
Most random thing ever I am assuming they can be picked up on waivers? Must have a known buyer. Regardless another disappointing season for pirates fans
TJECK109
Nutting hoping to save 6 game checks.
Gwynning
Yes, they’re available via the Waiver system… but not available for Postseason play. I suspect they’ll just sit out the final week and accept Assignments if proffered by the Bucs. Strange timing as MiLB is wrapping up.
YourDreamGM
Not random at all. Veteran soon to be free agents are dfa all the time in September to free playing time for others. Should have been done before so another team could claim him and have him for post season. But maybe he didn’t want to go and they respected that.
TJECK109
6 games left? Lame.
YourDreamGM
Extremely unlikely they get claimed so Nutting will be paying them for those 6 games. Nothing they can do to improve their value. But they could get hurt. But no reason for them to be on the team. They should have been dfa a month ago. Taylor was and should have been released.
draker
Every at-bat the Pirates have given to Tellez this season has been a waste. Why they have stuck with him (and Connor Joe for that matter) for the entire season has been an utter mystery to me.
YourDreamGM
They didn’t have anyone else to play 1b. Mystery solved.
Joe was good in spring. Tellez good in summer. So not a waste the entire time.
hoof hearted
When is “rally killer ” Garver gonna be put on the list
Reynaldo's
Wrong team
RevitalizedOldDude
It’s ok. The off season is ahead and Pirates fans can be assured of more of these kinds of signings. It’s almost something you can bank on
YourDreamGM
Have you seen the free agent class? Every team will be doing these kinds of signings.
TheMan 3
yes the annual next year mantra except next year never happens
mlb1225
Tellez turned things around after a rough first two months and has hit .277/.330/.478 since the start of June, but I get this move. Neither him nor MAT are going to be around next year, and while six games might not be a huge sample size, you might as well see what some players that might be on the roster next year can do.
bucsfan
I was going to give the Bucs the benefit of the doubt on the financial angle since you’d want to get guys who might factor into the future a few more games and they’ll be paying both guys anyway. But the news that Tellez is only 4 PA shy of a 200k bonus? Yeah, that’s Nutting being Nutting.
mlb1225
Meh, is what it is and I don’t really have strong feelings over it. People wanted Tellez’s head on a platter back in May. His OPS this month is lower than it was in April, and even after his strong summer, he still has a 91 OPS+ and negative bWAR/fWAR. There are bigger things to get worked up over than a below average platoon 1B not getting a $200K bonus.
TJECK109
If this is true I’d file a grievance. How stupid to dfa the guy rather than just not play him over the last 6. Nutting being Nutting
TheMan 3
except that the GM makes the roster decisions so blame Cherington
TJECK109
Except that he’s paid by the owner who trusts him to protect his wallet
njbirdsfan
Well then produce better and you don’t get cut. How many times you going to post the same comment?
TJECK109
6 games left
YourDreamGM
He gets paid for the final 6 games no matter what. As far as the bonus, do you think he deserves a bonus? Have you seen him play? Looked as his stats? I wouldn’t give my employee a bonus with that performance. He should have been dfa in late August.
bucsfan
I do not believe his level of play warrants the bonus. Honestly I don’t care all that much either way. That said, this is one of the little things players notice. Anything that can help change a players mind on wanting to potentially play in Pittsburgh as opposed to somewhere else (ex free agency) COULD be considered. Maybe not should, but at least keep it in mind so the word becomes “hey they take care of their players there”. And yes, I’m aware there are plenty of other factors that would scare someone off long before this.
YourDreamGM
“He isn’t considered a strong defender” Everyone in the Pirates organization would disagree and I would guess majority of fans would as well. Other than lacking range he looked good to me in games I saw.
wvsteve
This isn’t a difference maker any way you look at it. None of the 4 players mentioned will be on a winning pirates team next year. Rowdy has performed well enough to get a ML contract next year, but the pirates have to get better next year and they must do something differently in free agency. They need more runs and the bull pen has to drastically be improved.
baseballer
No way!!! Took that long? 4 more plate appearances and he would’ve gotten a 200k incentive…. Sheesh. Pirates are brute. Cheapskate frauds. Prob should’ve done that earlier in the year with a guy in AAA hitting over 300 nearly all year..
bucsfan0004
Too bad another team can’t claim Rowdy, give him the 4 plate appearances, and the Pirates be on the hook for the prorated portion of the $200k…. would be like $2k for the claiming team and $198k for tightwad Nutting
Rsox
Tellez probably has KBO written all over him but then, someone might be willing to offer a minor league deal.
baseballer
Peguero should take fielding lessons during his off season.