The world of minor league baseball is crazy, with a fast-paced lifestyle and an incredibly crowded schedule.
It’s the home of baseball’s best young prospects, most traveled journeymen, and the hopes and dreams of hundreds upon hundreds of ballplayers. But for all the stories that come from the rungs of minor league baseball, it’s certainly not everyday that you see a lineup like the one the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers fielded yesterday.
In front of a home crowd at Gwinnett Field, the Stripers became home to a perfect storm of rehab appearances, optioned big-leaguers, and veteran signings looking for one last shot in the majors. On Tuesday night, the top minor league affiliate of the Atlanta Braves treated the crowd to a lineup that included two former MVPs, multiple Gold Glove winners, and a combined 58 years of major-league service time.
Led by World Series winner and star Ronald Acuña Jr., the Stripers put up one of the toughest starting lineups for any Triple-A ballclub to face.
A third of that starting lineup consisted of former big leaguers for the Pittsburgh Pirates, starting most notably with longtime Pirate Andrew McCutchen.
McCutchen, a 12-year Pirate and 18-year big-leaguer has made Atlanta’s organization his latest stop in the final years of his career. After a three-year reunion tour with the Pirates came to a rather unceremonious ending this winter, McCutchen first signed in Texas midway through spring training and fought his way onto the Rangers.
But the designated hitter didn’t do a ton of what the job description had asked of him, and after slashing .192/.277/.260 (.537 OPS) in 37 games, McCutchen was designated for assignment.
The 39-year-old could have called it a career, but he set his ego aside and took a minor league gig with the hopes of still playing. McCutchen was making his Triple-A Gwinnett debut after he signed with their parent club in Atlanta back on July 2nd.
He made his organizational debut on the 7th, suiting up for rookie Braves in the Florida Complex League. He made four spread out appearances in the FCL before he was transferred up to Triple-A. McCutchen was taking the start in the outfield, a rarity for the latter stages of his career.
Joining him in Gwinnett was a fellow former Ranger and 2024 teammate of McCutchen in Rowdy Tellez. Taking first base for the Stripers, the 31-year-old is also looking to eventually re-claim a full-time job in the major leagues.
Coming off a down year with Pittsburgh’s divisional rival in Milwaukee, Tellez signed a one-year deal with the Pirates in 2024. Fetching over $3 million in that deal, Tellez had a real rollercoaster of a ride in Pittsburgh.
He infamously defended closer David Bednar and lectured fans on booing early in the season, before a frustrated fan base unleashed that displeasure on a struggling Tellez. He rallied late in the year and was a respectable batter by the end of the season, before the Pirates garnered negative press and DFA’d Tellez four plate appearances shy of a bonus.
On the season, Tellez slashed .243/.299/.392 (.691 OPS) with 13 home runs and 56 RBI, and in the ensuing winter he inked a minor league deal with the Seattle Mariners.
Through 62 games in Seattle last year, the lefty batted a subpar .208 batting average and .682 OPS. The Mariners released him in late June, but the Rangers picked him up on a deal a few weeks later and brought him to the major league roster after the All Star break. He upped his OPS to .772 in Texas to close the year, but found himself signing another minor league deal in Atlanta this year.
Tellez has spent a majority of the season in Triple-A Gwinnett, but did play in seven games for the Braves in June. Through 57 games for the Stripers this season, Tellez slashed .259/.368/.498 (.866 OPS) with 11 home runs and 41 RBI.
Joining him in recent days is a fellow veteran and first baseman in Carlos Santana, who is sporting his fifth different uniform this season. After making the Opening Day lineup in Arizona, Santana was taken down by injury just days into the season. Since then, stops in the Arizona Complex League, Triple-A Reno, and the FCL have all led the 40-year-old first baseman to Gwinnett.
Moving at a rapid pace has been nothing new for Santana. Since signing with the Pirates in 2023, Santana has played for at least two teams in all but one season. Playing first base for the Pirates in 2023, Santana slashed .235/.321/.412 (.732 OPS) before he was traded near the deadline to Milwaukee.
No matter what point in their careers they are at, however, a trio of McCutchen, Santana, and Tellez at the minor league level makes a heck of a trio. That’s especially true when you throw in other major leaguers like the aforementioned Acuña Jr. and shortstop Ha-Seong Kim.
And because baseball is forever wacky, this stacked Gwinnett club lost 7-4 to the Iowa Cubs at home. Stripers pitching struggled immensely early in this game; lefty starter Herick Hernandez issued four walks and allowed four earned runs in three innings, and the first man out of the bullpen, Connor Thomas, went 2.2 innings and allowed three earned runs.
The Stripers scored four runs, one off a game-tying home run by Tellez. Santana also scored an RBI, but Gwinnett’s offense couldn’t overcome their team’s early woes.
Iowa closed the game out with former Pirate Josh Fleming, who pitched the final five innings and allowed just three hits to pick up the win.
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