Longtime Braves hurler Julio Teheran moves out West, signs with Angels

Long-time Atlanta Braves hurler Julio Teheran has found a new home out West after signing a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels.

Earlier this offseason the Atlanta Braves declined a $12 million team option on Julio Teheran ending a nine-year relationship.

Julio has spent his entire career with Atlanta going 77-73 with a 3.67 ERA in 1,360 innings with 1,184 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.21.

He made the NL All-Star team in 2014 and 2016, and he finished fifth in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2013.

His best season came in 2014 when he won 14 games for the Braves and posted a 2.89 ERA in 221 innings with 186 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.08.

Julio’s mark on the Braves is a hotly debated topic among fans and one that doesn’t have a right or wrong answer.

On one side you can look at the numbers and see that he was a very good pitcher, sometimes great, in his time for Atlanta.

But on the other side, there are fans who were fed up with his inconsistency. You never knew if he was going to go out and battle through a quality start or give up a crooked number.

That last case couldn’t be made any clearer than Julio’s June this past season when he gave up just 3 earned runs in four of his June starts, but gave up 13 earned runs in his two other June starts.

Still, there were some who hoped the Braves might bring back Julio in 2020 to fill out the back of the rotation.

But that’s not to be as he signed a one-year deal worth $9 million with the Angels.

This makes perfect sense for the Angels as they need starters who are going to eat innings and Julio certainly does that.

In seven straight seasons now he’s made at least 30 starts and thrown a minimum of 174 innings.

I honestly thought he would get a much better deal with all of the money given to free-agent pitchers this offseason.

But I’m glad to see him land another job and we certainly wish Julio the best going forward in his career.