Pirates designate Rowdy Tellez four plate appearances short of a $200K bonus

With the Pittsburgh Pirates out of playoff contention, first baseman Rowdy Tellez was playing for an opportunity to receive a $200,000 bonus based on plate appearances. He entered Tuesday with 421 plate appearances, four away from earning that additional bonus.

For Tellez, the chance was dashed. With five games left in the regular season, the Pirates designated  Tellez for assignment before their Tuesday game against the Milwaukee Brewers. With MLB in the final week of its regular season, Tellez will likely end his 2024 campaign at 421 plate appearances, four shy of the 425 needed to earn an extra $200,000.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington told reporters that the potential for a $200,000 bonus didn’t impact his decision to remove Tellez from the roster.

“We feel like we gave Rowdy lots of opportunity here this year,” Cherington said Tuesday.

The Pirates signed Tellez to a one-year, $3.2 million deal in the offseason. Through 383 at bats in 2024, Tellez slashed .243/.299/.392 with 13 home runs and 56 RBIs. While his overall numbers are an improvement from last year (.215/.291/.376 with 13 home runs and 47 RBIs in 2023), it’s a decline from 2022, where he set a career high in homers (35), RBIs (89) and hits (116).

Tellez struggled to start the 2024 season, tallying just one home run through May. But he improved as the season progressed, the exclamation point happening on July 5 when he hit a homer and a grand slam en route to a 14-2 drubbing over the New York Mets that caused Pittsburgh to run out of fireworks. 

The Pirates were trade deadline buyers and entered August chasing a playoff spot. But a 10-game losing streak at the beginning of the month effectively ended the Pirates’ playoff hopes. The Pirates were eliminated from playoff contention on Sept. 16. Eight days later, the team DFA’d Tellez.

MLB players in their contracts are eligible to receive bonuses through the incentive clause according to the CBA. Per MLB’s Basic Agreement, incentives based on statistical achievement are prohibited. This means predetermined, non-statistical benchmarks allow players to earn extra money. For hitters, the most common incentive is plate appearances. Staying on the active roster for a certain number of days can also earn a bonus, depending on the contract.

The Pirates lost 7-2 to the Brewers on Tuesday, falling to 73-84 in 2024. In addition to Tellez, the Pirates also designated outfielder Michael A. Taylor for assignment.

(Photo: Jason Mowry / Getty Images)