Rowdy Tellez Homers Twice Against Former Team

Rowdy Tellez never saw consistent playing time at first base with the Toronto Blue Jays. In 2019, the year he saw the most plate appearances with Toronto, Tellez was splitting his time between first base and designated hitter. In 2020, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was moved across the diamond to first base, which became his full-time position in 2021. This meant Tellez would again split his time between first base and designated hitter, receiving just 151 plate appearances in 2021 before being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers.

Ahead of the Jays’ three-game interleague series in Milwaukee, Tellez revealed that he had volunteered for the change of scenery.

Rowdy Tellez acknowledged that he approached Ross Atkins to at least express that he was open to being traded when it was clear Vlad was owning 1B. “I wanted to further my career.” #Bluejays.

— Rob Longley (@longleysunsport) June 24, 2022

Tellez has made good use of regular playing time, improving his batting line to .255/.323/.462/.786 (115 OPS+) in two partial seasons with the Crew. On Sunday, he sent a message to his former team with two home runs off Jays starter José Berríos in the first two innings, driving in four of the Brewers’ ten runs.

The 10-3 loss in the rubber match sent the Jays home to face the Boston Red Sox with a 3-7 record over their last ten games. The series against Boston will start a nine-game homestand at a time when the Jays desperately need to benefit from home cooking to remain relevant among AL East hopefuls. Kevin Gausman (5-6, 3.19 ERA in 14 starts) will face a Boston pitcher TBD for Monday’s game at 7:07 PM ET.

Featured Image: Closeup of a mini collectible batter’s helmet for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball by Steve Cukrov / Shutterstock.com.