Atlanta Braves: The interesting case of Julio Teheran
Julio Teheran has been one of the most scrutinized players on the Atlanta Braves roster over the past few seasons, but the incumbent starting pitcher has been one of their most consistent pitchers in the month of May.
More so than any other off-season, people were clamoring for the Atlanta Braves to trade Julio Teheran last Winter.
He was coming off a mediocre season where he went 9-9 with a 3.97 ERA, but walks and the propensity to give up the long ball left Teheran out of favor with fans.
The patience has worn especially thin over the past two seasons, not just last season.
He was tied for 4th in the majors (among qualified pitchers) in walks in 2017 and 2nd overall last season (Sean Newcomb was 3rd). He was also tied for sixth in home runs allowed in 2017.
But something has clicked for Teheran this season, particularly this month where he is 1-0 with a 0.79 ERA.
Opponents are batting .132 in 22.2 innings in May, even though the walks are still too high at 11.
Teheran has joined Max Fried and Mike Soroka as a really solid trio in the rotation, which is hopefully about to add the Mike Foltynewicz from last year, too.
That’s where the questions lie: what do the Braves do with Teheran if he continues to be this good?
There are two options and both have pros and cons.
Choose: Door #1 or Door #2
The first option is to obviously keep Teheran, plug him in the back of the rotation and be confident he will be good the rest of the year, but probably not as good as he has been recently.
The risk there is Teheran has a $12 million dollar team-option for next year, so if the Braves decline it, they will not get any compensation for Teheran.
Is that a big deal?
Probably not, but it’s always nice to maximize a return when possible.
The second option is to ride Teheran’s success for another month or so and then trade him to a team in need of starting pitching, while also getting something in return.
The Braves could then use one of their young guys to fill out the rotation or trade for a top of the rotation type of guy to replace Teheran.
This would obviously be risky, because that means you are counting on Foltynewicz and Gausman staying on form, which has not happened much this year.
It also means you are counting on an unproven pitcher (Touki Toussaint, Bryse Wilson, etc.) to fill that spot or be optimistic that you could trade for somebody better.
To me, the safe and smart play is to keep Teheran and continue to roll with a rotation that could be very good in a month if Foltynewicz and Gausman progress.
Sure: the Braves are likely to decline Teheran’s option, but that’s for the off-season.
Right now it should be all about winning the NL East again and advancing in the playoffs.
Next. Carter Stewart avoids the Draft. dark
In order for that to happen, Julio Teheran needs to be a Brave.