Rangers Sign Former Pirates First Baseman

Tellze signed a minor league deal with the Mariners on Feb. 21 and then the Mariners selected his contract from Triple-A Tacoma on March 25, putting him on the roster before Opening Day.

He struggled with Seattle in 2025, slashing .208/.249/.434 for an OPS of .683 in 62 games, with 36 hits in 173 at-bats, six doubles, 11 home runs, 27 RBIs and eight walks to 49 strikeouts.

Tellez spent most of his time at first base, starting 48 of the 59 games he played there, while starting three games at designated hitter with Seattle.

The Mariners designated Tellez for assignment on June 20 and eventually released him on June 26, allowing him to sign with another team.

He signed a one-year, $3.2 million deal with the Pirates on Dec. 15, 2023, that could go up to $4 million in incentives.

Tellez struggled early on in his time in Pittsburgh, batting .192 in April and then .143 in May, before turning things around in the summer months, batting .333 in June, .297 in July and .300 in August.

He batted poorly in September, .116, which eventually resulted in the Pirates designating him for assignment on Sept. 24. This came just four plate appearances before Tellez would've earned a $200,000 bonus.

Then Pirates manager Derek Shelton denied that the bonus was a reason for Tellez going on waivers, as they wanted to bring up minor league players that had just finished up their season.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington concurred with Shelton and said that they gave plenty of chances to Tellez throughout the season, even when he was struggling and that it was just this time of the season.

Tellez finished his season with the Pirates with a slash line of .243/.299/.392 for an OPS of .691 in 132 games, with 93 hits, 18 doubles, 13 home runs, 56 RBIs and 31 walks to 89 strikeouts. He also started 105 of the 124 games he played at first base.