With the trade of first baseman Andrew Vaughn to the Milwaukee Brewers, the Chicago White Sox are left with a major question mark at the first base position for the rest of 2025.
Tim Elko was believed by many to be the heir apparent at the position, but his recent struggles and demotion to Triple-A have cast some doubt about his future.
In the short-term, former Athletic Ryan Noda seems to be taking the bulk of the at-bats. Noda is known for having decent pop, as well as high walk and strikeout rates. As a 29-year-old with only one full Major League season under his belt, Noda is far from a sure thing. His on-base ability and four additional years of control are good reason for GM Chris Getz to take a chance on him.
But with the White Sox desperately needing some power in the lineup and always looking for veteran to flip at the deadline, there is another recently DFA’d first baseman on the market that could be worth taking a chance on.
Rowdy Tellez
The Seattle Mariners announced Friday that they were designating veteran first baseman Rowdy Tellez for assignment.
The 30 year-old Tellez has hit .208 and 11 home runs with Seattle so far in 2025. His .683 OPS is nothing to write home about, but his 11 homers would lead the White Sox this year. Tellez put up a 35 home runs in a season as recently as 2022, when he was with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Tellez is also known as a high-energy guy and has been well-liked in the clubhouses he's been a part of. Another veteran leader on a very young White Sox team can't hurt.
Rowdy Tellez, off the windows of the Hit It Here Café ... No. 9 this season.
— Daniel Kramer (@DKramer_) June 4, 2025
Exit velo: 108.6 mph
Launch angle: 26°
Distance: 404 ft.
Hang time: 4.8 seconds pic.twitter.com/67VKzMfShX
With his second inning stolen base, Rowdy Tellez moves into a tie for 246th in baseball with one (1). pic.twitter.com/9wNXho2vfm
— Joe Veyera (@JoeVeyera) June 18, 2025
Tellez will be a free agent after the 2025 season, so it's not like the White Sox would be making any sort of long-term commitment to him. Power is always a valuable commodity to contending teams.
Theoretically, the White Sox could claim Tellez on waivers, get a few homers out of him in July, and find a team looking for an extra left-handed power bat at the trade deadline.
Acquiring Tellez would give Tim Elko another month to work out his issues in Charlotte, and the Sox could potentially cash in and acquire prospect capital for a player that didn’t even start the year on their roster. It's a pretty similar model to what the White Sox are already trying to do with Aaron Civale.
The White Sox may elect to just stick with Noda at first base because of his walk rate and power potential, but if they want to get a more established power bat that provides stability at first, Tellez is available for the taking. If Chris Getz elects to make the move, this summer at The Rate could get a little Rowdy.