Pirates sticking with Rowdy Tellez has somehow paid off in ways fans never expected

It's time to admit it: Rowdy Tellez may have been a really good signing for the Pittsburgh Pirates despite the backlash from fans earlier in the season.

Expectations weren't exactly high for Tellez, who entered Wednesday's game against St. Louis Cardinals left-hander Matt Liberatore with a .148 average (4-for-27) and one RBI against southpaws this season.

But in yet another show of game-changing heroics, he recorded an RBI single in the second inning and smashed a fourth-inning home run that landed in the Allegheny River to lead the Pirates to a 5-0 win over the Cardinals (as a last-minute addition to the lineup, no less).

It hasn't always been smooth sailing for Tellez since he arrived in Pittsburgh. The 6-foot-4, 270-pound first baseman vastly underperformed at the plate through the first two months of the season. He was ineffective at best, slashing .177/.239/.223 with just three doubles and one home run through April and May. As the only new addition to the Pirates' offense this offseason, he became the face of Pittsburgh's offensive woes and the target of frequent jeers and derisive comments from fans.

Perhaps, though, he just needed some time to get settled. Since the calendar flipped to June, Tellez has drastically turned his season around, slashing .328/.364/.588 over his last 125 plate appearances. Since the All-Star break, he's batting .357 with five hits, two runs and five RBI.

Pirates sticking with Rowdy Tellez has somehow paid off in ways fans never expected

Despite his bottoming-out in April and May, Tellez is slashing .249/.299/.398 with an 0.3 WAR in 2024. At worst, the Pirates have a league-average first baseman; at best, they have a game-changing offensive player who has finally hit his stride at the plate. The hope is that Tellez will continue his upward trend during the back half of the season while the Pirates do the same.

The Pirates have now won four of six games in a homestand against the Philadelphia Phillies and the Cardinals in a strong start to the second half. They visit the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday for a three-game series, followed by a visit to the Houston Astros. Hopefully, Tellez brings his second-half bat with him to keep the pressure on the front office to make trade deadline moves.

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