Braves free up money, cut ties with veteran Julio Teheran

The Atlanta Braves decided not to pick up the team option for Julio  Teheran for the upcoming 2020 season and the veteran is now a free agent.

In somewhat of a shocking move on Monday, the Atlanta Braves decided not to pick up the $12 million team option on Julio Teheran for 2020.

This was really the only team option going into the offseason that was a question.

The Braves had to pick up the option on Tyler Flowers, and there isn’t much risk in picking up the option on Nick Markakis.

But $12 million would have been a lot of money for the team’s fifth starter.

I think the only reason Atlanta might have considered picking it up is because what Teheran offers still has a ton of value, which would have made him a trade target this offseason.

No matter what you think of his production on the field, Julio has taken the ball every five days for seven straight seasons.

There are teams that will pay good money for that kind of stability in their rotation (I’m looking at you, Angels).

But for where the Braves are at this point, they don’t just need innings eaters in the rotation, they need starting pitchers ready to dominate.

And with all of the young arms in the Braves rotation, there is a very good chance we have someone inhouse who can give you the production Julio gives at a much lower cost.

And beyond that, if the Braves are going to have any chance of making the postseason again in 2020 and advancing, they need some frontline starting pitcher.

And by letting Julio go they add $11 million (Atlanta pays him a $1 million buyout) to the budget to be able to go out and get a frontline starter or two this offseason.

There is still a chance that Julio is back in a Braves uniform. Depending on how the offseason plays out, I could see the two re-uniting on a much smaller one-year deal.

But for now, Julio is a free agent — and as I said earlier — I think there will be plenty of teams after him.

What Julio has done for the Braves during the rebuild years and during the past two division-winning seasons won’t be forgotten by Braves fans.