Ryan Tellez: Everything you need to know

Tellez signed a minor-league contract with Atlanta on Friday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports. Tellez spent time with the Mariners and Rangers last season, slashing .228/.276/.443 across 312 total plate appearances. He's spent the entire offseason on the open market but still saw a little bit of action while playing for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic, during which he went 1-for-9 with two walks and two strikeouts across four games. The 31-year-old will almost certainly begin 2026 as an organizational depth piece at Triple-A Gwinnett, but he'd be likely to join the big club if Matt Olson were to miss any amount of time.

Tellez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians. The left-handed-hitting Tellez will remain absent from the starting nine for the second straight day to close out the season while the Guardians send another southpaw (Logan Allen) to the hill. Jake Burger will start at first base in Tellez's place.

Tellez will start at first base and bat cleanup in Thursday's contest versus the Twins. It's his fourth start over the last five games against right-handed pitching, as Tellez has overtaken Jake Burger as the Rangers' primary first baseman. Tellez has a .915 OPS with one home run over his last nine tilts.