Pirates Already Hurting Themselves Ahead of Offseason
It has been a rough second half for the Pittsburgh Pirates to say the least.
After their 7-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday, they dropped to 73-84 and are now 25-36 since the All-Star break. As bad as that may seem, the Pirates managed to hit a new low this season before their team even took the diamond against the National League Central champions.
Before their game against the Brewers, Pittsburgh announced they had designated first baseman Rowdy Tellez and outfielder Michael A. Taylor for assignment. According to multiple reports, including Ethan Hullihen, Tellez was just four at-bats away from earning a $200,000 bonus.
Here are Tellez's incentives for 2024: https://t.co/Df90hyQLuU pic.twitter.com/wGzsaaG2Tt
— Ethan Hullihen (@EthanHullihen) December 16, 2023
It would be one thing if they called up a young prospect to let him get some at-bats with the team out of playoff contention. Instead, they called up Liover Peguero and outfielder Joshua Palacios. Neither player cracks the top 30 for a farm system that ranks 20th in baseball by MLB Pipeline.
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington insisted that Tellez's $200,000 bonus had no bearing on the decision to DFA him, though you'd be remiss not to connect the dots for a franchise that historically hasn't been willing to spend money. He also said he doesn't expect this decision to impact the Pirates in free agency.
"No," Cherington told reporters on Tuesday. "These things are unfortunately a difficult part of the business. You have to have these conversations about releasing players. I've never experienced that affecting anything going forward. Had good conversations with Rowdy and Michael, specifically in terms of that. We'll have time to get into the offseason and get into offseason planning. But I don't anticipate any issue from it."
Cherington added: "Guys understand where we are. In the old days of expanded rosters, we probably wouldn't be sitting here having this conversation. But there are 28 spots, and 14 are going to go to position players. We feel like we have to get the 14 guys on the team, wherever we can, who have the best chance to contribute past this year. I think our players understand that. Doesn't mean it's easy. Players have relationships. They can feel for Rowdy and Michael. That's OK. That's a legitimate thing."
It's impossible to ignore the optics and there's no question that impending free agents notice how players are handled at other franchises. Something like this can't help the Pirates in free agency or even if they're trying to trade for a player who has options and can control their destiny.
Tellez hadn't had a bad year, though he had fallen on hard times in September. Across 421 at-bats, Tellez had improved his batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS from last season.
If Pittsburgh is going to maximize its window with Paul Skenes and Jared Jones atop their pitching rotation for the foreseeable future, it needs to add more offense this offseason, and answers to that problem don't appear to be coming from within next season given where its farm system stands. If the Pirates are going to improve their hitting next season and give their pitching staff the support they need, it'll more than likely have to come through free agency.
And with Pittsburgh's handling of Tellez when he was more than likely just one game away from earning a bonus, it was a step backward for the Pirates and potential repercussions could lie ahead when they attempt to improve the team this offseason.
NATHANIEL MARRERO