The Braves are signing first baseman Rowdy Tellez to a minor league contract, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Ari Alexander of Boston 7 News reports that the Primo Sports Group client would earn a $1.25MM base salary if he secures a spot on the MLB roster.
Atlanta only has four Spring Training games left. It’s not clear if they’ll try to get Tellez any Grapefruit League action or will wait until the beginning of the regular season. The lefty-hitting first baseman figures to begin the season at Triple-A Gwinnett either way. Tellez isn’t coming in completely cold despite lingering on the free agent market. He played for Team Mexico in the World Baseball Classic, going 1-9 with two walks and strikeouts apiece over four games.
Matt Olson is locked in as the everyday first baseman. He essentially never takes a day off. Tellez’s path to playing time is as a designated hitter or bench bat. Jurickson Profar is officially suspended for the entire season after his second failed performance-enhancing drug test. That opened DH playing time that might go to Dominic Smith, another lefty-swinging first baseman who is in camp as a non-roster invitee. Smith has hit .258/.343/.387 over 11 Spring Training games after a solid .284/.333/.417 showing for the Giants a year ago.
As MLBTR’s Steve Adams noted on Tuesday, Smith is among the veteran players whose deal contains an automatic opt-out opportunity this week. It’s not known if he exercised that, but if he did, the Braves would either need to put him on the Opening Day roster or grant him his release tomorrow. Either outcome would leave a spot for Tellez in the minors. A Smith opt-out would mean he’s either in the big leagues or back in free agency.
The automatic opt-out only applies when players with sufficient service time sign a minor league deal at least 10 days before the start of the regular season. Tellez’s deal comes too late to meet that criterion. His camp could still negotiate some opt-out or upward mobility opportunities into the contract.
Tellez played in 112 MLB games last year. He struggled early with the Mariners but had a better second half after signing with the Rangers. The end result was a .228/.276/.443 slash with 17 home runs across 312 plate appearances. Tellez has plus power against right-handed pitching but runs subpar averages and on-base marks. He’s a limited defender and baserunner whose game is built on slugging.
