The Milwaukee Brewers and first basemen Rowdy Tellez cut ties about one month ago when the Brew Crew elected to non-tender him. In his final year of arbitration he was projected to make around $5.90 million, but was coming off of a down 2023 season.
Arbitration rules state that the controlling team can only reduce a player’s salary by 20%. Rather than attempt to do this Milwaukee elected to non-tender him and he became a free agent. Ultimately he elected to sign with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Former Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Rowdy Tellez reveals his true intentions on signing with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
On Foul Territory TV, in which Rowdy Tellez is a frequent guest, he was asked about signing with the Pirates. His overall response and comments were quite interesting.
“It’s kinda the place I wanted to be in free agency. It gives me a full runway to basically give myself the best opportunity to put up big numbers in a free agent year being a great ballpark with a great young core that they have.”
“And like I told them (Pirates), you guys put up good battles against us (Brewers). It was a battle of who has more veterans and who is a little bit smarter. They had so many young players it was tough to sustain those leads and things balance out a little later. I do love Milwaukee and being a part of there but we didn’t see eye to eye and this is part of the business side, but it will be fun playing against them. “
Will Rowdy Tellez be out seeking revenge when he plays against the Brewers?
“I wouldn’t call it a revenge tour. Just go out and help the team win as much as I can. But you know it’s going to be fun and I’ll have a little chip on my shoulder. Just like the first time I played the (Toronto) Blue Jays after they traded me. I had a good series.”
“You always play with a little chip on your shoulder, even when you play your former team. That’s just how it is. You just have these little moments where you want to do something to show them that they missed out.”
The Milwaukee Brewers and Pittsburgh Pirates will play each other for the first time in 2024 on April 22 at PNC Park. That will be a four game set. A month later Rowdy Tellez will return to American Family Field for the first time for a three game set May 13-15.
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