First off, let me state I am not a fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates. My heart bleeds Cubbie Blue. If I were though, the news this morning would have me rethinking that.
The Pirates designated for assignment first baseman Rowdy Tellez. Normally a move like this from a non-playoff team with 5 or 6 games left in the season may not gather a lot of news. Happens every ear from a team looking towards next year. Call up some players from the farm system and get a small sample size of how they perform on the MLB level. This is a tad different though.
Mr. Tellez had seen 421 at bats. Upon 425 at bats, he would receive a $200,000 bonus. Just 4 measly at bats away. Looking at other contracts, his 1 year 3.2-million-dollar contract is not all that exurbanite. This gentleman worked his butt off for you and you thank him by cutting him basically a game worth of at bats away from earning a 200k bonus?
Now the General Manager Ben Cherington and Manager Derek Shelton have claimed his bonus kicking in had no bearing on the decision. Really?! You expect folks to believe that. If I am an agent negotiating for a client, I am canceling my meeting with the Pirates brass. This move sends the message that you truly don't care about the players on your team. I surely would not negotiate bonus clauses. Give my client all the money guaranteed.
It will be interesting watching the Pirates next year. How invested will the plyers be in the team? Are they going to bust their butts or will they give minimum effort? Not allowing Mr. Tellez the opportunity to earn what was negotiated in good faith has more than likely broken the trust of more than one player in that clubhouse.
