Victor Robles signed an extension with the Seattle Mariners yesterday. The deal comes a few months after the outfielder was granted his release by the Washington Nationals, following his refusal of an outright assignment. The Nationals previously tried to trade Robles and his $2.65 million salary, but found no takers.
Since joining Seattle, Robles has a .303/.372/.450 line in 123 plate appearances. It’s not a large sample, but it was enough for the Mariners to extend him for two years and $9.75 million, with a $9 million option for year three.
The Pittsburgh Pirates equivalent of this type of move was the early-season addition of Joey Bart. The catcher has been hitting .268/.348/.497 in 178 plate appearances since being acquired in a trade by the Giants. Bart is making $770,000 this year, with three years of control remaining.
Sometimes, a player just needs a change of scenery. Especially if that player is struggling to live up to the lofty expectations with their original team.
Robles was one of the top prospects in the game for years. You might remember the former trade rumors that had him linked to the Pirates for Andrew McCutchen. Obviously the Pirates didn’t deal McCutchen to the Nationals, and obviously the Nationals didn’t deal Robles to anyone. It was clear in 2017-18 that Robles was a key part of Washington’s future. He never lived up to those expectations.
Bart was drafted second overall by the Giants in 2018. He spent four seasons struggling to stick in the active roster. For perspective, that would be like Henry Davis still struggling following the 2026 season. In each case, a catcher with power was taken with a can’t miss pick at the top of the draft.
Robles and Bart both immediately had success with their new organizations. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. At a higher acquisition price, Jazz Chisholm Jr. has done the same thing, batting .316/.361/.702 in his debut with the Yankees, after being inconsistent and having issues with the Marlins.
I bring up Robles because the Pirates needed help, and needed outfield help, when he was available for nothing. If they would have been willing to take on the $2 million salary commitment at the end of May, they might have gotten the same outcome as Seattle. Of course, this is also an organization which maneuvered to cut salary with their deadline additions, and there’s a chance they just didn’t have any money available from owner Bob Nutting this year.
Robles seemed like exactly the type of player who the Pirates should have taken a chance on this year. There’s a chance he would have gotten off to the same slow start as Bryan De La Cruz. There’s also the reality that De La Cruz was never seen as an elite prospect like Robles, who could potentially benefit from a change in scenery.
Rowdy Tellez Resurgence
Speaking of being limited by Bob Nutting’s risk-aversion, the Pirates will need a first baseman next year. A good first baseman is going to cost money, and this team is always forced to hunt for value in the absence of available money to spend.
At the moment, the best sleeper option might be on their roster.
Rowdy Tellez ranks 30th in wOBA and 31st in wRC+ this season among first baseman. Those aren’t good results, obviously. His season is also divided into a Jekyll/Hyde split.
Since the start of June, Tellez has been the fifth-best first baseman in both wOBA and wRC+. The only players ahead of him are Vlad Guerrero Jr., Freddie Freeman, Jake Burger, and Bryce Harper.
That’s a massive difference from his first two months. Out of 302 position players with 100+ plate appearances in the first two months, Tellez ranked 297th in wOBA and wRC+. He was literally one of the worst hitters in the game, with only Nick Fortes, Nolan Jones, Tim Anderson, Mickey Moniak, and Christian Vazquez behind him. That’s a much different group of names than the previous list.
Which version of Tellez is real? One of the worst hitters in the game or one of the best first basemen? He’s been neither of those hitters during his career, so it’s difficult to point to a previous outcome as proof for either side.
Tellez will likely show his mid-point during the final two months of the season. If he trends closer to the last two months, the Pirates should consider bringing him back for their need in 2025.
Eight in a Row
It’s easy to talk about missed opportunities, or next year’s possibilities when the Pirates have lost eight games in a row.
I’d say this is a collapse that rivals the 2012 season, but that team was much better at the deadline (59-44), and never lost eight games in a row. This year feels similar to 2011.
The Pirates were 54-52 at the deadline in 2011, carrying a three-game losing streak. They opened the month of August with seven more losses, dropping ten in a row surrounding the deadline. They were 54-49 after their game on July 28th, and dropped to 54-59 by the morning of August 8th.
This year’s group was 55-52 at the deadline, and have since lost 10 of their last 11, dropping to 56-62 as of this morning.
As I wrote recently, this team has been more prone to long losing stretches than long winning stretches. We’re seeing that again right now.
Pirates Prospect Watch
Bubba Chandler and Nick Yorke were among the top performers in the Pirates’ minor league system over the last week. At least help is on the way. Although, that always seems to be the case. Chandler and Yorke are covered in today’s Pirates Prospect Watch.
