At the outset of spring training, Rowdy Tellez was more worried about finding the timing of his swing than his production at the plate.

Just when his production at the plate started to become worrisome, Tellez took one swing that showed his potential for production.

After Ke’Bryan Hayes and Jack Suwinski started the third inning with successive singles, Tellez crushed a 1-0 changeup from Tyler Phillips 418 feet at an exit velocity of 111.8 mph for a three-run home run Monday in an 11-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater, Fla.

It was the first RBIs in Grapefruit League play for Tellez, the slugger signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates to a one-year, $3.2 million contract with performance incentives. Going 2 for 4 boosted his batting average to .241 (7 for 29), as Tellez has drawn almost as many walks (six) as strikeouts (eight) this spring.

“I just want to be in there every day and do what I can,” Tellez said. “As long as I can help the team win and I’m driving in as many runs as I can, that’s all you can ask. I’ll be grateful to show up every day and be part of a major league team.”

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington and manager Derek Shelton know Tellez from their time together with the Toronto Blue Jays, where he learned from veterans what to do and what not to do. They are counting on the left handed-hitting Tellez to play first base, provide a fun personality and add some tenacity to the team.

“Rowdy has an edge to him, and I mean that in a really good way,” Shelton said. “That was one of the things that, when we started talking about him this winter, made me feel like he was going to fit in our clubhouse. He’s been in a couple different organizations and he’s been on some good teams, but he’s got a little bit of edge to him in a good way that we felt like we needed in our clubhouse.”

Tellez is hoping to put last season behind him and return to his 2022 form, when he hit 23 doubles, 35 home runs and had 89 RBIs in 153 games for the Milwaukee Brewers. He believes that starts with being in better shape and staying healthy for the full season.

Tellez dealt with a “freak injury” in Cincinnati last July, when he ran into the center field wall while shagging fly balls, got his finger stuck in the padding and dislocated his left ring finger. Tellez had surgery to repair a small fracture on the end of the finger, where the fingernail was torn off, and required 17 stitches.

What made it worse was the risk of infection, so Tellez became sedentary while he was sidelined and his body ballooned.

“We didn’t want to get to the point where I was going to be missing a finger,” Tellez said. “I couldn’t sweat. I couldn’t do anything. I think about walking, and I’d start sweating. … It was bad. When I came back and was healthy and cleared to play, I didn’t do very much. I didn’t change the way I was eating.”

The drop-off was dramatic. Tellez finished with nine doubles, 13 homers and 47 RBIs in 105 games, losing his starting job after Carlos Santana was acquired in a trade with the Pirates.

Tellez, listed at 6-foot-4, 270 pounds, was motivated to lose 26 pounds in the offseason, which allowed his mobility “to get back to who I was and what I was comfortable at.” And he says the finger is fine.

“That’s behind me,” Tellez said, rubbing the scar. “It doesn’t affect anything. I have full feeling. I just have an ugly finger now.”

Now healthy, Tellez wants to prove that he’s not just a big bat but a first baseman who also has a good glove and can move better than expected. That’s something Shelton noticed at Pirate City, where Tellez showed good glove and footwork around the bag.

“I pride myself on being a defender,” said Tellez, who has minus-10 defensive runs saved since 2018 but broke even last season. “A lot of people knock me for it. I think I’m a really good defender. If you’d talk to my former teammates, they say I’m one of their favorite guys to throw to. For me, that boosted my confidence, hearing that my teammates had confidence in me and supported me to move around and to be a big target.

“When you’re young, you think you’re going to hit your way to the big leagues. That’s what I thought I did. I took it for granted. I wasn’t a very good defender and had to put in a lot of work. When you’re able to lose weight and can move around and are mobile, it changed my offseason workouts. I’m getting older, too. You’ve got to realize there’s no point in trying to lift the house anymore. It’s about, ‘Can I stick for 162 on the field?’ That was a big mindset change. I don’t have to lift the house. Let’s get strong. Let’s get mean. Let’s be mobile. Let’s play every day. For me, that was the big part for defense, to maximize all those things so I can stay on the field.”

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