Rowdy Tellez slumped in his swivel chair in front of his locker, decompressing after another depressing performance during which the Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman was booed relentlessly again at PNC Park.
After going 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in Thursday’s 7-6 loss to the San Francisco Giants, which dropped his batting average to .175 with a paltry .467 OPS, Tellez has become the lightning rod for frustrated fans.
“It’s not fun. It’s not easy. But there’s an old saying in baseball: ‘If you don’t like it, play better,’ ” Tellez told TribLive. “The only thing I can say on that front is, I’m trying. I’m trying to do everything I can. I’ve changed my swing, how I’ve approached stuff. I’m trying to be the best defender I can be. I’m trying to be the best teammate I can be. For me, it’s just taking it day by day. It’s never fun to be in those situations, but it is part of it. It is resting on my shoulders that I’m not playing well.”
Tellez knows the fans have targeted him since he stepped in front of cameras and chastised them for booing two-time All-Star closer David Bednar after a blown save against Detroit on April 9. Where Bednar, a Mars alum who was the team’s nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award for his community service, has recovered to record 10 saves, Tellez has gone into a tailspin. He’s hitting .137 (12 for 87) with three doubles, two RBIs over his past 33 games, with 22 strikeouts against five walks.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton has stuck with Tellez through his scuffles, noting that the 6-foot-4, 270-pound slugger had 35 homers and 89 RBIs for the Milwaukee Brewers as recently as the 2022 season. But Shelton expressed some exasperation with Tellez’s at-bats.
He was caught looking at Giants lefty Erik Miller’s full-count fastball down the middle in the second inning. The Pirates had the bases loaded with one out in the fourth when Tellez swung at Mason Black’s first-pitch sweeper over the heart of the plate but flied out to left. The next batter, Joey Bart, hit a 1-0 fastball for a grand slam. Tellez struck out again in the sixth, then flied out to center in the eighth.
“I think they need to be better,” Shelton said. “Patience-wise, I think he has to be better. That’s where it comes down to. He’s gotta have better at-bats.”
The Pirates released first baseman Yoshi Tsutsugo, who was on a one-year, $4 million contract, in August 2022 after he batted .171/.249/.229 with four doubles, two homers and 19 RBIs in 50 games. Tsutsugo’s slash line is almost identical to what Tellez (.175/.242/.225) has produced in 45 games with the Pirates, so Tellez is aware that the Pirates’ patience could be wearing thin.
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Tellez signed a one-year, $3.2 million contract with the hopes of providing power in the middle of the batting order but hasn’t homered since the fourth game of the season — March 31 at the Miami Marlins — and hasn’t had an extra-base hit or RBI since May 5 against the Colorado Rockies.
“That’s what it comes down to,” Tellez said. “I’ve been in this game long enough to understand that, too. If you’re not going to produce, someone is going to come for your job. I understand that. I’m doing the best I can, trying to make these changes. That’s all you can do.”
Tellez has dealt with similar struggles. He batted .209 (29 for 139) with four doubles, four homers and eight RBIs in 50 games with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2021 before being traded to the Brewers, where he rebounded to slash .272/.333/.481 with 10 doubles, seven homers and 28 RBIs in 56 games for the eventual NL Central Division champions.
Tellez had a career year with the Brewers the following season before slipping to .215/.291/.376 with nine doubles, 13 homers and 47 RBIs last season, when he dealt with finger and forearm injuries. The Pirates have split starts at first base this month between Connor Joe (11) and Tellez (10).
Even so, Tellez isn’t worrying about whether he will be designated for assignment. He’s concentrating on being a positive influence in the clubhouse and figuring out a way to end his slump.
“No, I would take it day by day of trying to help the team win the best way I can, making sure everybody keeps a smile on their face in these tough days,” Tellez said. “It’s part of the game. Like Skip said, if you’re not playing good, you’ve got to pick it up. That’s all I can do.”
Kevin Gorman is a TribLive reporter covering the Pirates. A Baldwin native and Penn State graduate, he joined the Trib in 1999 and has covered high school sports, Pitt football and basketball and was a sports columnist for 10 years. He can be reached at kgorman@triblive.com.