Seattle Mariners officially letting 1B Rowdy Tellez go

Rowdy Tellez is set to move on after spending the first 2 1/2 months of the season with the Seattle Mariners.

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The Mariners announced Thursday that the 30-year-old first baseman has been “placed on unconditional release waivers for the purpose of granting him his unconditional release.” Per MLB.com, “players are rarely claimed off release waivers, as the claiming club is required to pick up the remaining contract.”

If Tellez clears waivers, the Mariners will remain on the hook for the remainder of his $1.5 million salary (per Spotrac) this year. He would then be free to sign with any other MLB team for the prorated league minimum salary.

The lefty-swinging Tellez was designated for assignment last Friday, June 20, making room on the Mariners’ roster for the activation of outfielder/first baseman Luke Raley from the injured list after his recovery from a right oblique strain.

Seattle signed Tellez to a minor league contract on Feb. 21, and he made the team out of spring training. In 62 games for the M’s, the 6-foot-4, 270-pound slugger slashed .208/.249/.434 for a .683 OPS with 11 home runs, six doubles, 27 RBIs, 20 runs, a stolen base, and eight walks to 49 strikeouts.

Prior to joining the Mariners, Tellez spent the 2024 season with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He previously played for the Milwaukee Brewers (2021-24) and the Toronto Blue Jays (2018-21).

Tellez’s stint with the M’s will perhaps be best known for a “revenge series” he had in Toronto against his former team. He homered in all three games at Rogers Centre and drove in a combined seven runs from April 18-20, including a grand slam in an 8-4 win in the middle game of the series.

With Tellez out of the mix, the Mariners are now playing a combination of Donovan Solano (.261 average), Dylan Moore (.229) and Raley (.229) at first base.

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