The Texas Rangers signed free-agent First Baseman Rowdy Tellez to a minor league contract, according to Will Sammon of The Athletic. Tellez was let go by the Mariners last week after struggling mightily to start the season. In 62 games for Seattle, Tellez had a slash line of .208/.249/.434, which is good for a .682 OPS. He had an OPS+ of 96, which means he was 4% percent below league average.
Rowdy Tellez Was Still Productive At the Plate
Although Tellez was below average offensively, he still hit 11 home runs and had 27 RBI in 185 plate appearances. The problem is that he struck out 49 times in his 62 games played. He hits the ball well when the bat makes contact with the ball, but it hasn’t been happening that often. Combined with Tellez being one of the slowest runners in Baseball, a fresh start might be what he needs to get his plate discipline under control.
There’s never a risk for a minor league contract, and with Tellez’s decent offensive production, he could be useful for the Rangers. The Rangers currently sit at 43-45 and 9.5 games out of first place in the AL West. Worst comes to worst, the Rangers could be out of contention by the time the trade deadline arrives. If Tellez is hitting well, he could be shipped out for something of value. Rowdy Tellez and the Rangers could benefit both sides.
Last Thoughts
Rowdy Tellez might end up just being a placeholder until Joc Pederson gets back from the injured list. If that’s the case, Tellez has limited time to make a name for himself on the Rangers. It could be a situation where he is released once Pederson is back. If Tellez gets released twice in such a short amount of time, he’ll likely find a job somewhere else because he has 11 home runs this season.
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