Report: Rowdy Tellez Said ‘No’ To Blue Jays in Their Bid For A Reunion

He was a beloved Toronto Blue Jays for his first three seasons in the major leagues, but Rowdy Tellez was dealt to the Milwaukee Brewers in the middle of the 2021 season. Jays fans watched with envy as he had a breakout 35-home run season in 2022.

According to Blue Jays beat writer Keegan Matheson of mlb.com, the team reached out to the old fan favourite early in the offseason about the potential of bringing him back to fill the always-sought-after left-handed bat need in Toronto.

But Tellez said, 'thanks but no thanks' to GM Ross Atkins.

Old friend Rowdy Tellez opened the scoring for the Pirates, who are knocking on the door each inning here.

I heard a while back that the #BlueJays reached out to Tellez early in the offseason about a reunion. The playing time in Pittsburgh obviously made more sense for him.
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) June 2, 2024

The Pittsburgh Pirates had also come calling in the winter, and Tellez at the time figured, rightfully, that he'd have more playing time opportunities with the Buccos, choosing to sign there.

And although he crushed the Jays on Sunday going 3-for-4 with a 4 RBIs against his old team, the 2024 season hasn't gone exactly according to plan for Tellez thus far. He has a .194 average with just one measly home run for the Pirates along with a meager .505 OPS.

Spurned by Tellez, the Jays went out and got a close facsimile instead in Daniel Vogelbach (in both appearance and performance), who has pretty much matched Rowdy in the Disappointment Derby this season, batting .228 with just one homer. They both tip the scales at an equal 270 pounds, so no advantage either way on that count.