Angels right-hander Julio Teheran has hired a new agent and will now be represented by Mato Sports Management moving forward, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets. He’d previously been represented by Wasserman.
The 2020 season will be the first that Teheran, 29, plays with an organization other than the Braves. Atlanta paid him a $1MM buyout rather than exercising his $12MM club option for the upcoming season, making Teheran a free agent for the first time. He’d previously signed a six-year, $32.4MM contract extension back before he’d even accrued two full years of MLB service. Now, he’ll play the shortened 2020 season on a prorated $9MM salary after signing with the Angels back in December.
A consensus Top 5 prospect in all of MLB from 2011-12, Teheran has at times flashed brilliance but settled in as more of a mid-rotation arm. He posted a terrific 3.03 ERA and a strong 3.58 FIP in 406 2/3 frames from 2012-13 but has since logged a 3.90 ERA and 4.50 FIP in 927 1/3 innings since. Highly durable, Teheran has made 222 starts in seven seasons since cementing himself as a big league regular — an average of 31.7 starts per year with only 27 total days on the injured list in that time. He’s made at least 30 starts in each of his seven full MLB seasons.
In changing representation, Teheran will move to a smaller firm — albeit one with several still-notable clients. Avisail Garcia, Anibal Sanchez, Asdrubal Cabrera, Danny Santana and Cameron Maybin are among his new company’s clients. All of that can be seen in MLBTR’s Agency Database of more than 2,000 players, which has been updated to reflect Teheran’s switch. If you see any omissions or errors in need of corrections in the database, please let us know via email: mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.
Ok.
I’m rooting for you Julio! Thanks for being such a sport for Atlanta
A thread about an Angel player. I’m so happy.
With a 60 game season, everything changes. Since pitchers are going to make 12 starts, it’s very conceivable that a few teams will only have six different starting pitchers all year.
This helps a lot of teams with health question marks in their rotation.
I love it when writers and analysts post sabremetrics for Teheran because of how unique he is. Teheran has produced a better ERA than FIP or xFIP for the last seven seasons in a row.
2019
ERA: 3.81
FIP: 4.66
XFIP: 5.26
2018
ERA: 3.94
FIP: 4.83
XFIP: 4.72
2017
ERA: 4.49
FIP: 4.95
XFIP: 4.96
2016
ERA: 3.21
FIP: 3.69
XFIP: 4.13
That is his last 4 years in a row. Notice a similarity? Every year he outperforms his run prevention peripherals and its just more of the same for 3 seasons before that.
Because of Teheran’s peripherals implies he was lucky as far as run prevention is concerned every year you hear the same thing about him: that he is a back of the rotation sort who will regress because that’s what his peripherals say. But he has defied his peripherals for 7 straight years. Nobody is that lucky.
My point is, when you appraise Teheran, his actual production is a better indicator of his true abilities than is his run preventive peripherals.
yep, proof “peripherals” dont define all pitchers. he’s certainly not the only one.
I’ve been making this same case for years. At a certain point, it isn’t luck. Unfortunately, there’s no fame or value for solid ball players like Teherán in today’s game. Fans, media, and executives either want elite production or to have a “top prospect” label. Little love for the guys who show up everyday and give you a shot to win.
For my money, I thought it was a mistake Atlanta let him go in favor of a more expensive and injured-at-the-time Cole Hamels. I get Hamels was an ace back in the day, but at this stage I’d have rather kept Teherán’s reliability in a still pretty young rotation.
@darkside
I use sabremetrics all the time but Teheran is a good reminder that metrics doesnt always figure a player out. I have never seen a player do it to Teherans extent but if there is one there will still be several more.
@Brandon.
You and I are on the same page. I almost think of Teheran like Bryce Harper lite. When Teheran was coming up there was a lot of hype surrounding him. He was supposed to be our next ace.
It’s not his fault. The fans put that expectation on him. Unfortunately, most of our fellow Braves fans didn’t appreciate him for what he was: a solid, middle rotation arm that soaks up innings. That has real value.
Fangraphs did a great write-up on him.
The reason he pitches above his peripherals is he has five pitchers and will throw any pitch at any time. Batters can’t guess.
Huh…going to go look for that article now. I don’t think I have read it.
Its a good one. They break down his pitch mix.
Teheran is a great example of the problem that arises when people equate FIP as a predictor of ERA. It is a stand-alone stat that adds to the understanding of a players work.
But I agree Teheran was always got knocked for his FIP being high and people used that to argue against his ability, meanwhile he would just go out there and deliver results.