The Braves re-signed first baseman/designated hitter Rowdy Tellez to a new minor league contract, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The Primo Sports Group client was designated for assignment by Atlanta last week and outrighted to Triple-A over the weekend. Tellez briefly elected free agency but is now back in the fold on a new contract, as we’ve seen frequently (and will likely soon see again) with righty Carlos Carrasco.
Tellez, 31, was great with the Braves’ Triple-A club in Gwinnett during his first stint with the club. He hit .259/.367/.483 with eight homers, 15 doubles and a nearly 15% walk rate over the life of 207 plate appearances with the Stripers. Atlanta selected him to the majors briefly last month, and Tellez collected a pair of hits (including a homer) in 11 plate appearances (10 at-bats).
Given the construction of Atlanta’s roster, a lengthy stint in the big leagues was always going to be tough to attain for Tellez. Both he and Dominic Smith are left-handed first base/DH journeymen who can’t be optioned, making it difficult to carry both on the 40-man roster alongside star first baseman Matt Olson. Smith has cooled down considerably after a blistering start (.177/.244/.241 in his past 90 plate appearances), but he’s still hitting .273/.313/.404 overall and sporting an excellent 14.2% strikeout rate.
Tellez has played in parts of nine major league seasons between the Blue Jays, Brewers, Pirates, Mariners, Rangers and now Braves. He’s a career .234/.299/.437 hitter who peaked with a 35-homer campaign back in 2022 but has struggled in part-time roles since: .230/.289/.403 in 1095 trips to the plate. For now, Tellez will head back to the Stripers and serve as depth in the event of an injury to Smith or Olson (or continued struggles for the former).
