Rowdy Tellez Replaces Former All-Star In Seattle After Strong Spring

The Seattle Mariners have a power vacancy after releasing former All-Star Mitch Haniger this past weekend. With that, Rowdy Tellez has taken advantage of the opening, earning himself a spot on the major league roster after a strong spring.

The M's had to eat the remaining $15.5 million of Haniger's contract to let him go, but after batting less than .210 in each of his previous two seasons, and just .167 in 18 at-bats this spring, Seattle decided to move on from their former 39-HR, 100 RBI man.

Tellez, 30, had an .894 OPS with four doubles and three homers in Cactus League play this month with the Mariners, batting .298 with a .574 slugging pct.

“Rowdy’s had a really nice camp,” manager Dan Wilson said after Sunday’s game. “He’s swung the bat well and has done a very good job over there at first base -- you can tell he’s experienced over there and handles the bag nicely. He’s had a really good camp and what he’s brought to the team has been big.”

He'll probably provide a left-handed complement to the righty-swinging Mitch Garver at the DH spot, and also some backup for Luke Raley at first base. The Mariners are a platoon-heavy team, so this makes sense for them, certainly at DH.

The former Toronto Blue Jay, Milwaukee Brewer and Pittsburgh Pirate slugger signed a minor league deal with Seattle back in February that will be worth $1.5M at the major league level.

Tellez hit 13 homers with the Pirates last year, with a slash line of .243/.299/.392 and a .691 OPS. For his career, he slashes .234/.303/.436 with a .739 OPS, along with 105 homers and 319 RBIs.