Blue Jays trade Rowdy Tellez to Brewers for pitchers Trevor Richards, Bowden Francis
º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøattempts to upgrade bullpen in trading Tellez, who showed flashes of potential but who couldn’t find a regular spot in the lineup behind Vladimir Guerrero.
More help is on the way for the Blue Jays bullpen, after º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍødealt infielder Rowdy Tellez to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for right-handers Trevor Richards and Bowden Francis on Tuesday.
Tellez’s slow start to the season, his place behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on the first-base depth chart and the need to cycle players through the designated hitter spot all factored into Toronto’s decision. The Brewers were looking for corner infield help.
“Having the four outfielders and using that DH spot, that all came together and made Rowdy expendable. We still love Rowdy but having this many guys — and Vladdy being as good as he’s been at first base — it made that move easier for us,” said manager Charlie Montoyo, who sent Tellez his well wishes for a fresh start via text.
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Montoyo knows of Richards, 28, from his days with the Tampa Bay Rays, where he played until a late May trade to Milwaukee. This is his first season working as a reliever. Richards could give º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøsome length out of the bullpen, pitching at least two innings in nine of his 21 outings this year.
He has a 3.69 ERA in 31 2/3 innings this year, with 41 strikeouts and a save, though he has conceded 1.4 home runs per nine innings. Like reliever Adam Cimber, who the Jays acquired in a trade with the Miami Marlins last week, Richards is not a free agent until 2025.
Montoyo said he wasn’t sure when Richards would join the team but the manager expects to give him a shot in high-leverage situations.
Francis, 25, has a 3.62 ERA in 11 starts between Double-A and Triple-A this year. A seventh-round draft pick in 2017 by the Brewers, he has yet to make his big-league debut.
Tellez, 26, was selected by the Jays in the 30th round of the 2013 draft and debuted in 2018. He hit 21 home runs and had 54 RBIs in 111 games in a career-best 2019. A career .241 hitter, Tellez struggled at this plate in 139 major-league at-bats this year, hitting .209 with a .610 OPS and just four home runs. He has was demoted by the Jays on June 22 and has played with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons since.
The Jays also reinstated right-hander Thomas Hatch from the 60-day injured list on Tuesday, and optioned the 26-year-old starter to the Bisons. Southpaw Ryan Borucki was transferred to the 60-day to make room for Hatch on the 40-man roster. Borucki, who went down with a left forearm flexor strain in mid-May, will be eligible to come off that list this weekend. Borucki is scheduled to throw one inning with the Bisons on Wednesday as part of a rehab assignment, according to Montoyo.
Laura
Armstrong is a former Blue Jays and º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøFC beat reporter
for the Star's Sports desk.
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