The Milwaukee Brewers acquired first baseman Rowdy Tellez from the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday in exchange for right-handed pitchers Trevor Richards and Bowden Francis.
Tellez, who bats left-handed, is hitting .209 with four home runs and eight RBIs in 50 games for the Blue Jays at the major league level this season. Tellez, 26, is currently in Triple-A and is hitting .298 with four home runs and 11 RBIs in Trenton.
His best season came in 2019 when he set career highs with 21 home runs and 54 RBIs. For his career, he has a .241 batting average, 37 home runs and 99 RBIs in 219 games.
The first-place Brewers acquired the 28-year-old Richards, along with Willy Adames, in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays in May. He is 3-0 with a 3.20 ERA in 15 appearances with Milwaukee since the trade.
Francis, 25, is 7-3 with a 3.62 ERA in 11 starts at two levels in the Brewers’ minor league system this season.
The Brewers needed some help at first base with Daniel Vogelbach on the injured list due to a strained left hamstring. Vogelbach isn’t expected to return until August.
Keston Hiura, who opened the season as the Brewers’ starting first baseman, is batting .161 and already has been sent to the minors twice this season. Hiura showed signs of progress during the Brewers’ recent 11-game winning streak, but he has gone 0-for-7 with six strikeouts over his last two games.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.