The Pittsburgh Pirates have released Rowdy Tellez, who was just four plate appearances shy of earning a $200,000 bonus in his contract. The decision comes with only six games left in the season and has raised questions about the timing.

Despite being an above-average hitter recently, Tellez's performance did not warrant the wait for the bonus criteria. Tellez's season stats included 13 home runs and 56 RBIs across 131 games.

The Pirates are under scrutiny for their financial decisions and have not had a payroll above $90 million since 2017, missing the playoffs for nine consecutive seasons.