Rowdy

Tellez

We wonder if any of the future moderately priced veteran free agents the Pirates like to sign will take notice about just how the team handled Tellez and Michael A. Taylor, cutting them for no real reason with six days to go. Tellez got off to a horrible start this year, but he’d hit .277/.330/.478 with 12 homers and 48 RBI in 279 plate appearances since the beginning of June. Connor Joe and Billy Cook will likely finish up as the Pirates’ first basemen.

Tellez smacked a two-run homer — his 13th big fly of the season — off veteran reliever Jacob Barnes after teammate Nick Gonzales broke up a potential combined no-hitter with a ground-ball single up the middle with two outs in the seventh inning off Robert Garcia. He also drew a walk in the ninth inning off Nationals closer Kyle Finnegan as well.

Tellez was on the bench against left-hander Matthew Boyd to start this one. He entered the game as a pinch-hitter with the bases loaded in the eighth inning and gave Pittsburgh a pair of insurance runs with a two-run single. The 29-year-old slugger is slashing .259/.305/.415 with 12 homers and 50 RBI across 370 plate appearances.

The Pirates fell behind 4-0 early in this one, then rallied to score six times in the fifth inning to take the lead — the final two on a 406-foot two-run bomb by Tellez off of Guardians’ right-hander Ben Lively. With his two-hit attack, the 29-year-old slugger is now hitting .257/.304/.413 with 12 long balls and 48 RBI on the season.

The 29-year-old slugger was pulled from Wednesday’s game due to an apparent injury, but it appears that the off-day on Thursday served him well. Tellez will start at first base and bat fifth against Ben Lively and the Guardians on Friday evening in Cleveland.

It’s unclear exactly what happened, but Tellez was replaced by Michael Taylor with Connor Joe sliding over to cover first base prior to the start of the eighth inning. The 29-year-old slugger had hustled out an infield single in the prior half inning, so perhaps that’s when the injury occurred. Tellez went 3-for-5 with a pair of RBI in a losing effort there. Expect the Bucs to provide an update on his status on Thursday.

The Pirates have now faced three left-handed starters in a row so Tellez, Ji Hwan Bae, and Billy McKinney continue to sit with Connor Joe at first base, Michael A Taylor in center field, and Bryan De La Cruz in right field. Tellez and Bae should get back into the lineup regularly when the Pirates face a righty but, unfortunately, they are lined up to face another lefty starter on Friday.

Tellez is dealing with back spasms, and the infielder will miss another game with the ailment. Connor Joe will play first base, Andrew McCutchen is the designated hitter and Jack Suwinski gets the start in left field. Consider Tellez day-to-day.

Tellez was pulled from Friday night’s game after two plate appearances due to back spasms. The encouraging news is that the 29-year-old slugger hasn’t been placed on the injured list — at least as of yet. Connor Joe will start in his place at first base and will bat cleanup against right-hander Brandon Pfaadt on Saturday night in Arizona.

The Pirates announced that he’s currently undergoing treatment and being examined by the medical team and is considered day-to-day. Hopefully it’s not a big issue and won’t cause the 29-year-old slugger to land on the injured list as he has become an integral cog in the middle of the Pirates’ lineup. Stay tuned, as the club should have an update on his status prior to Saturday’s game.