Former Mariners fan-favorite slugger officially begins AL West revenge tour

The Seattle Mariners only have four games left against the Texas Rangers, and they wouldn't seem to pose a major threat given Seattle's 7-2 record against Texas. But now the threat is very real, as the Mariners will be squaring off against Rowdy Tellez between July 31 and August 3 in Arlington.

Before we get to whether we're overreacting, here's Jon Heyman of the New York Post with the news that the Rangers are calling on the 30-year-old slugger:

Tellez signed with the Rangers on a minor league contract on July 5, about two weeks after the Mariners designated him for assignment to make room for Luke Raley. The news of his recall comes on the heels of Jake Burger going on the injured list late on Wednesday.

Rowdy Tellez loves to haunt former teams, and now the Mariners are one

Though he only played 62 games for Seattle, you have to hand it to Tellez for leaving an impression on the Mariners faithful. He had some memorable moments at the cold corner and pitched in 11 home runs, which still rank fifth on the team.

It was a sad day when the Mariners DFA'd Tellez, albeit one where the bitterness came with a bit of sweetness. He was fun to watch, but he also produced minus-0.6 rWAR and was below average in pretty much every offensive category. Basically, about what you'd expect for a guy whose career rWAR is exactly 0.0.

But lest anyone think the Mariners won't rue the day they left Tellez there for the Rangers to scoop up, just remember what he did to the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays are the team that drafted him in 2013 and ultimately traded him away in 2021. It would seem he holds a grudge about the latter, as his 15 career games against his old club have yielded a 1.025 OPS and six home runs.

Tellez did the bulk of that damage as a Mariner earlier in 2025. He went deep four times in Seattle's six games against Toronto, notably clearing the fence in all three games during a visit north of the border in May.

Now it's the Mariners who risk getting cut by any chip that Tellez might have on his shoulder. It's the last thing they need right now, as low-hanging-fruit teams like the Rangers — yup, still getting used to saying that about the 2023 World Series champs — are the ones that the Mariners need to be steamrolling in the second half.

It's not a panicky feeling, per se. But it's at least a nervous one, to a point where we're grateful that the Mariners only have four games left against the Rangers.