Pat McAfee, Jeff Passan Blast Pirates Owner Bob Nutting

The Pittsburgh Pirates have been under siege by the sports world after designating Rowdy Tellez for assignment.

Nathaniel Marrero

ESPN College Game Day's Pat McAfee high-fives fans as he takes the field before the game between Michigan and Texas at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.
ESPN College Game Day's Pat McAfee high-fives fans as he takes the field before the game between Michigan and Texas at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK
In this story:

At the beginning of the season, had you told anyone associated with the Pittsburgh Pirates and fans of the franchise that they'd be at the center of the discussion in the final week of the season, they'd be thrilled.

Perhaps they're in playoff contention or have already clinched a spot in the postseason? Or maybe the conversation revolves around a pitcher doing things no pitcher has ever done as a rookie let alone in baseball history.

Instead, in typical Pirates fashion, they're caught in the headlines for many of the same reasons why they've been one of the laughingstocks in baseball over the last few seasons.

The Pirates designated first baseman and relief pitcher in blowouts Rowdy Tellez for assignment when he was just four at-bats shy of earning a $200,000 bonus according to multiple reports. That decision has earned heavy criticism throughout the baseball world and made its way onto The Pat McAfee Show on ESPN.

McAfee and ESPN insider Jeff Passan discussed the Pirates' decision to DFA Tellez. Passan noted that having a player like Tellez on the team was very o- brand for the Pirates with Bob Nutting at their owner and called him out for not taking his role seriously.

"Why are you always playing for short term with little money?" Passan exclaimed. "Why do you have an $86 million payroll to open the season when the rest of the sport at the top has 300 plus million dollars, how do you continue to exist as a major league baseball owner who theoretically wants to win a championship and do so pinching pennies? This is what happens. This Pat is the consequence of ownership that does not treat things seriously."

The Pirates' payroll is the second-lowest in baseball, only leading the Oakland A's. Teams like the Tampa Bay Rays and Miami Marlins, who are also notorious for not spending money on their players or in free agency, rank ahead of Pittsburgh.

With that payroll, Passan noted the constraints that are placed on general manager Ben Cherington when it comes to improving the team.

"I feel bad for Ben Cherington and for everybody else who's trying to run this organization and win when there simply is not the money there to go out and do it," Passan said. "It puts you in a position to make moves like this, where, frankly, Rowdy Tellez should have been gone from this line out months ago, but the Pirates didn't want to go out and spend any money."

McAfee, who is a Pirates fan, took a few jabs of his own at Nutting and said the Pirates owner should sell the team.

"The Pittsburgh Pirates are the Pittsburgh Pirates, and it sucks for another generation of users that are going to watch a team in a sport that could be beloved by a lot of the youth in Pittsburgh," McAfee said. "Instead, that place is a laughing stock. Just give Rowdy Tellez his money and then tell him congratulations on a great MLB career and then let's get some players in there around Paul Skenes. That's never going to happen, but we can hope you."

Make sure to visit Pirates OnSI for the latest news, updates, interviews and insight on the Pittsburgh Pirates

Published
Nathaniel Marrero

NATHANIEL MARRERO

Home/News