July 6, 2021

By Andrew Hendriks

Canadian Baseball Network

One of Hank Williams, Jr. best songs contained the lyrics “all my rowdy fans have settled down.”

After Tuesday’s transactions, almost a daily event for the Blue Jays, Bo Bichette could be singing “My Rowdy friend has settled on down the road.”

In a continued effort to shore up an under performing bullpen, the Toronto Blue Jays dealt 1B Tellez to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for right-handed pitchers Trevor Richards and Bowden Francis on Tuesday.

Through 15 games with the Brewers in 2021, Richards, 28, has recorded an ERA of 3.20 with 19 strikeouts against nine walks over his 19 2/3 innings split between Tampa Bay and Milwaukee.

Across parts of four seasons in the majors, the 6-foot-2 product of Alvaston, Ill., has amassed an overall WHIP of 1.380 with an HR/9 of 1.2 across 85 games, 52 of which have come as a starter.

Francis, 25, is a former seventh-round draft pick of the Brewers and owns a cumulative 4.23 ERA through 69 pro games dating back to his minors debut in 2017. All but six of his appearances have come out of the starting rotation.

In seven starts with triple-A Nashville, Francis has gone 4-2 with an ERA of 3.49 through 38 2/3 innings during his first look at minor league ball’s highest level. The 6-foot-5 Florida native has 39 strikeouts against nine walks over that span.

Having run out of playing opportunities in light of Vladimir Guerrero’s move from third to first base, Tellez departs Toronto after slashing .241/.301/.458 across parts of four seasons at the MLB level.

At the time of Tuesday’s deal, the left-handed swinging 26-year-old had an OPS of 1.038 through 55 plate appearances with triple-A Buffalo. With Daniel Vogelbach shelved due to a hamstring injury, Tellez will have a decent shot of receiving every day at-bats in Milwaukee.

In Francis (six) and Richards (three), the Blue Jays acquire two players with nine years of team control as a result of Tuesday’s deal.

-Follow Andrew Hendriks on Twitter (@77hendriks)