The Pittsburgh Pirates need a first baseman for the 2025 season. Their best option might already be on the Major League roster.
Rowdy Tellez was signed to a one-year, $3.2 million deal this year, coming off the worst year of his career in 2023 with Milwaukee. Tellez started the 2024 season with the Pirates as one of the worst hitters in the game during the first two months of the year.
Things have changed since the start of June. Tellez sought advice from his father, as well as hitting tips from Dee Brown. Since the beginning of June, Tellez has been one of the best hitting first basemen in the league. He has a .355 wOBA, which ranks sixth in that span. His 128 wRC+ ranks ninth. Among all hitters in the game, he ranks 60th in wOBA and 66th in wRC+.
The Pirates haven’t had a great offense this year. Tellez is one of five hitters with above-average results since the beginning of June. He’s joined by Bryan Reynolds, Joey Bart, Oneil Cruz, and Andrew McCutchen. The first three are under team control for the 2025 season and beyond, while McCutchen has been told he will be a Pirate until he retires.
The Added Benefits of Tellez
Tellez is going to need to finish the season strong on the offensive front. He added a pinch-hit double in Tuesday’s win over the Rangers, scoring the fourth run of a 4-0 game.
There are other benefits that Tellez provides. The biggest would be that he seems to have a strong relationship with Oneil Cruz, serving as a mentor to the young slugger. That helps Cruz in the infield, throwing to Tellez. The first baseman has also mentored Cruz during some tough moments at the plate.
Tellez would likely earn more than his one-year, $3.2 million this year, but he’d likely still be in the Pirates’ price range as a seven-figure player. This would allow the Pirates to direct their offseason spending toward a position without internal candidates, such as center field.
The question is whether he can sustain an above-average level of offense for the long-term. Right now, he’s been hitting for the better part of three months. He also has seen reduced time against left-handers. His ability to provide consistent offense, even if it’s only against right-handers, will be the ultimate benefit that he can provide.
Keller Leads Pirates to a Win
Mitch Keller threw seven shutout innings on Tuesday, allowing three hits, no walks, and striking out nine. It was one of the best starts of the year for the right-hander, who now has a 3.76 ERA in 148.1 innings.
Keller was backed up by some timely, two-out hitting in the fourth inning. Connor Joe hit a ground rule double to put runners on second and third. Bryan De La Cruz followed with a two-strike single to center field, putting the Pirates up 2-0. Oneil Cruz followed with a triple to bring in a third run.
The Pirates added some insurance in the ninth. After Tellez hit a pinch-hit double, his 16th of the season, Jared Triolo brought him in with a two-out single.
Aroldis Chapman pitched a scoreless eighth inning, and David Bednar shut down the ninth, giving the Pirates a 4-0 win.
Help is On the Way
The Pirates started the rehab assignments of three players in Triple-A on Tuesday, while seeing two other rehab assignments continue.
Carmen Mlodzinski, Colin Holderman, and Nick Gonzales began their rehab work. Mlodzinski pitched a scoreless inning. Holderman allowed a solo homer in his single inning of work. Gonzales played five and a half innings at second base, going 1-for-3 at the plate.
Jared Jones made his latest rehab start in the same game, throwing five shutout innings and striking out ten. Ryan Borucki made his second appearance of his latest rehab appearance, throwing a scoreless inning.
Thomas Harrington Named Pitcher of the Week
After throwing seven shutout innings in his start last week, Thomas Harrington was named the International League Pitcher of the Week.
The 36th overall pick in the 2022 draft was promoted to Indianapolis at the start of the month, after a 2.24 ERA in 68.1 innings this year with Altoona. Harrington started slow in his debut with Altoona, allowing seven runs in 10.1 innings over his first two starts.
On Saturday, Harrington threw seven shutout frames, allowing two hits, zero walks, and striking out two.
Pirates Prospect Watch
Jared Jones struck out ten in five shutout innings for Indianapolis. Tsung-Che Cheng and Kervin Pichardo each hit home runs in Altoona. Derek Diamond threw six shutout innings for Greensboro. The DSL Pirates teams wrapped up their minor league seasons. For all of Tuesday’s minor league action, check out the latest Pirates Prospect Watch.
