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Julio Teheran

Health Notes: E. Rodriguez, Teheran, Brewers, Rox, Rangers, Nats

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Red Sox left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez tested positive for the coronavirus July 7, but he returned to the club over the weekend and detailed his serious bout with the illness. Rodriguez told Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe he has never been sicker, saying he felt “100 years old” and was concerned he wouldn’t “make it to the season.” Fortunately, Boston’s No. 1 starter will pitch this year, though it’s going to take time for him to ramp up before he makes his 2020 debut. Rodriguez took an encouraging step Saturday when he came out of a 25-pitch bullpen session feeling fine.

  • Like Rodriguez, Angels righty Julio Teheran will miss the start of the season because of a positive COVID-19 test. Teheran began feeling sick in late June, but he explained (via Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times) that he was more concerned about the illness affecting those around him. Teheran’s parents are at high risk of catching the virus, and two other members of his family – his wife and 4-year-old son – as well as their nanny tested positive. Teheran’s wife and son were asymptomatic, but he and the family nanny were not. All of them seem to be doing OK now, luckily. Teheran’s Angels debut will be delayed, but the former Brave informed DiGiovanna he’s only “about a week behind.”
  • Brewers slugger Ryan Braun is dealing with “nagging” back, oblique and neck issues, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relays (Twitter links). It’s unclear whether those problems will jeopardize his Opening Day chances, but it’s worth noting that they have prevented Braun from playing in Summer Camp. Meanwhile, teammate and southpaw Eric Lauer will miss the start of the season “by a little bit,” manager Craig Counsell revealed. Lauer is behind schedule because he was exposed to someone with the coronavirus, but he is healthy. The 25-year-old was a key offseason pickup for Milwaukee, which landed him in a four-player trade with San Diego. Lauer tossed 149 2/3 innings of 4.45 ERA/4.23 FIP ball with 8.3 K/9 and 3.07 BB/9 a season ago.
  • It’s in question whether Rockies right-hander Scott Oberg will be available when their season starts Friday, per Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. Oberg has battled a back strain, but he threw his first intrasquad game Sunday and indicated afterward he has made progress in the past week. Manager Bud Black is also encouraged, though he expects a decision on Oberg to “go down to the wire.” Considering Wade Davis’ recent struggles, Oberg looks like unquestionably the Rockies’ best reliever. The 30-year-old put up his second straight impressive season in 2019, logging a 2.25 ERA/3.54 FIP with 9.32 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 56 innings.
  • Rangers left-hander Brett Martin has been cleared for Summer Camp following a positive COVID test.  Manager Chris Woodward told MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan and other media members Sunday that Martin will still begin the season on the injured list since “he’s not there yet. So we’re going to keep monitoring him, have him throw bullpens and maybe some live [batting practices] to get him ready.”  Martin posted a 4.76 ERA, 3.44 K/BB rate, 53.8% grounder rate, and 8.95 K/9 over 62 1/3 innings in 2019, his debut season in the big leagues.
  • Right-handed pitching prospect Wil Crowe is at the Nationals’ minor league training camp after being in COVID quarantine for several weeks, Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post reports (Twitter link).  The Nats’ second-round pick in the 2017 draft, Crowe is ranked by MLB Pipeline as the fourth-best prospect in Washington’s farm system.  Crowe has a 4.03 ERA, 2.41 K/BB rate, and 7.5 K/9 over 290 minor league innings, and while reached Triple-A last season, his 6.17 ERA over 54 Triple-A innings indicates that he might yet need some more seasoning before receiving a Major League promotion.  The Nationals did include Crowe on their initial 60-man player pool at the start of Summer Camp.

Julio Teheran Back In Angels Camp

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After a long delay related to COVID-19 protocols, righty Julio Teheran is back in camp with the Angels, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register was among those to report on Twitter. It’s not clear when he’ll be formally cleared to get in uniform, but it seems Teheran is nearing a resumption of activities.

Given the timing, there’s virtually no chance Teheran will be ready to step into the Halos rotation when the 2020 season finally gets underway next week. He had taken the ball twice in Spring Training before the season went on ice, but he has not yet participated in Summer Camp and surely still needs to build up his arm.

Teheran agreed over the winter to a one-year, $9MM pact with the Angels. The durable 29-year-old had quite a few productive seasons over his tenure with the Braves and posted a strong 3.81 ERA in 2019. Fielding-independent metrics were less than enthused about his work, however, and Teheran’s fastball velocity has continued to trail off.

The underlying situation that led the Angels to sign Teheran underwent some change during the pandemic-forced pause. Shohei Ohtani and Griffin Canning each had unexpected opportunities to rest, putting the L.A. rotation in better shape to open the season than had been anticipated. That’s not to say that the depth won’t be appreciated, but the club likely won’t feel it needs to rush Teheran’s readiness.

Coronavirus Notes: Astros, Diekman, Teheran, Indians

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Astros superstar Alex Bregman had to sit out Wednesday’s practice because the results of his latest coronavirus test did not arrive on time, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle relays. “I look forward to having the issue resolved as soon as possible to rejoin my teammates tomorrow,” Bregman stated. Meanwhile, teammate and outfielder Michael Brantley expressed frustration with the league’s testing problems, saying “[players] kind of want answers.” He added, “I’d love to hear from Rob (Manfred) and some clarity on how we’re going to get this done because that’s very important.” Houston’s among a few teams slowed early in Summer Camp by testing delays, further calling into question whether MLB is capable of pulling off this season.

  • Like Brantley, Athletics reliever Jake Diekman is unhappy with how the league has handled the testing process. There’s plenty at stake for Diekman – the 33-year-old has battled ulcerative colitis for most of his life and underwent surgery to remove his colon in 2017, putting him in greater danger of contracting the virus. Diekman told Alex Coffey of The Athletic: “I’m high-risk, so I have to speak out for everyone. I don’t want to get sick.” He went on to question MLB’s estimate of how many players have tested positive, opining that it must “be getting close to 100.” And while Diekman doesn’t want to opt out of the season, he’s skeptical that one will even happen. “Once the regular season hits, there’s no way I’m opting out,” he said. “But if they don’t get the testing figured out, this whole thing will get shut down. That’s my personal opinion.” Coffey’s piece is worth a full read, as there’s plenty more on the concerns Diekman and his wife, Amanda, have in regards to a potential season.
  • The Angels placed right-hander Julio Teheran on the 10-day injured list earlier this week, but even manager Joe Maddon was uncertain of the reason. It turns out that Teheran’s still in Atlanta – where he pitched previously – because he and his family have shown symptoms consistent with COVID-19, he told Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes (Spanish-language link). Teheran revealed he “was not feeling well,” but he’s hopeful of joining his team in Los Angeles this weekend if he gets the go-ahead. Regardless, with the campaign just two weeks away, Maddon’s not sure if Teheran will be available from the jump (via Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com), as the skipper observed that “it would probably be a rush” to place him in the Angels’ season-opening rotation.
  • Indians outfielder Delino DeShields tested positive for the coronavirus last week, but it looks as if he’s on the road to recovery. DeShields’ most recent test came back negative, and he’s on his way to Cleveland as a result, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com reports. If he tests negative again there, he’ll be able to join his teammates for Summer Camp. [JULY 11 UPDATE: DeShields indeed tested negative for the second time, and rejoined the Tribe’s camp.]  More good news: Slugger Franmil Reyes returned to practice Wednesday after testing negative. The Indians held Reyes out of camp for two days amid worries that he contracted the illness at a July 4 party.

Pitching Notes: Teheran, G. Holland, Taijuan

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The latest on a few well-known major league hurlers…

  • The Angels have placed right-hander Julio Teheran on the 10-day injured list for an undisclosed reason, J.P. Hoornstra of the Orange County Register was among those to report. “I have not heard from him specifically and I have not heard from the medical group either,” manager Joe Maddon said of Teheran. “For me, there’s been no contact.” That obviously doesn’t sound encouraging for Teheran or the Angels, who signed the ex-Brave to a one-year, $9MM guarantee in the offseason. The 29-year-old Teheran has effectively chewed up innings for the majority of his career, which is one of the reasons the Angels added him to a staff that has been low on reliable options in recent seasons. But it’s now unknown when Teheran will be in position to make his debut with the club.
  • Once among the game’s elite relievers during his younger, pre-injury days with the Royals, righty Greg Holland is now fighting for a chance to make the team. Holland, whom the Royals reunited with on a minor league contract in the offseason, looked as if he’d earn his way back during the spring, but it’s up in the air whether he’ll do enough in Summer Camp to crack the club’s 30-man Opening Day roster, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com writes. Fortunately for Holland, he has a fan in pitching coach Cal Eldred. “What I’ve seen here is just as good as his body of work was in spring,” Eldred told Flanagan. “Actually, the ball is coming out even better. I think he’s been really sharp. I think he’s in a great spot.” The 34-year-old three-time All-Star hasn’t pitched in the majors since last August, when the Diamondbacks released him after he tossed 35 2/3 frames of 4.54 ERA ball with 10.35 K/9 and 6.06 BB/9.
  • Mariners righty Taijuan Walker took the hill for the first time at camp Tuesday and was hitting 90 to 93 mph with his fastball, per Greg Johns of MLB.com. Walker has averaged 94 mph on his heater during his career, but serious arm injuries limited him to just 14 innings with Arizona from 2018-19. He’s now back in his old stomping grounds in Seattle, where he was once a top prospect and a capable starter. And as Johns explains in his piece, while many players are understandably nervous about participating this year because of the coronavirus, Walker’s champing at the bit to reestablish himself after two lost seasons. He’ll open 2020 in what figures to be a six-man M’s rotation after signing a one-year, $2MM pact in free agency.

Julio Teheran Changes Agencies

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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.

Julio Teheran Dealing With Hamstring Tightness

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FEBRUARY 26: Teheran indicated he doesn’t see much cause for concern; in fact, he’s hoping to be ready to get back on the mound by Sunday or Monday, Fletcher tweets.

FEBRUARY 25: Angels right-hander Julio Teheran won’t make his scheduled start Wednesday because of left hamstring tightness, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register was among those to report. Fortunately for the Angels and Teheran, an MRI came back negative.

Teheran appears to be OK, but this is still a situation worth monitoring for an Angels club that has dealt with an abundance of adversity in its rotation over the past couple years. Injuries have been a major problem of late for the club, evidenced in part by the fact that no Angel even threw 100 innings last season. Conversely, a lack of durability hasn’t been a problem for Teheran, whom the Angels signed to a one-year, $9MM contract in free agency.

The 29-year-old Teheran was a member of the Braves from 2011-19, a span in which he amassed 170-plus innings in seven seasons. Teheran didn’t turn into the front-line type of starter the Braves thought they had toward the beginning of his career, but he has nonetheless managed decent overall numbers. Most recently, he piled up 174 2/3 frames of 3.81 ERA/4.66 FIP ball with 8.35 K/9 and 4.28 BB/9 last year. The FIP doesn’t look appealing, but that particular statistic has never been bullish on Teheran, who has consistently found a way to outdo it in the ERA department. Teheran’s the owner of a lifetime 3.67 ERA – a number the Angels would surely sign up for in 2020. He’ll first have to get over this injury, though.

Angels Sign Julio Teheran

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DECEMBER 21, 4:35PM: Teheran’s deal with the Angels is now official, reports Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register.

DECEMBER 19: The Angels and right-hander Julio Teheran have agreed to a one-year contract, ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan reports (Twitter link).  Teheran will earn $9MM in the deal, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (via Twitter) reports.  Teheran is represented by the Wasserman agency.

After spending his first nine seasons in Atlanta, Teheran will now head west to join what the Angels hope will be a greatly improved pitching staff.  Los Angeles has been linked to numerous top free agent starters, though their pitching acquisitions have thus far been more modest, between signing Teheran and trading four minor league pitchers to the Orioles for Dylan Bundy.  While putting Teheran and Bundy behind Shohei Ohtani still represents an upgrade for the Halos, one suspects the Angels will still look to add a topline arm rather than count on Ohtani to be an ace in his first season back from Tommy John surgery.

Given the amount of pitching injuries the Angels have faced in recent years, Teheran’s durability is a big plus.  The righty has averaged 191 innings per season from 2013-19, with only two minimal injured list stints (for a thumb contusion and a lat strain) in that span.  While Teheran has two All-Star appearances to his name and looked for a time like he could become the ace of the Braves’ staff, his last three seasons have been more modest.

From 2017-19, Teheran has 3.3 total fWAR, a 4.09 ERA, 7.9 K/9, and 1.99 K/BB rate over 538 2/3 frames.  While he posted a 3.81 ERA in 2019, ERA predictors like FIP (4.66), xFIP (5.26), and SIERA (5.11) painted a much more dire picture of Teheran’s 2019 performance.  He also posted a career-high 39.1% hard-hit ball rate, and he finished in the bottom tenth percentile of all qualified pitchers in fastball velocity, with only a 89.7mph average on his heater.  (In more positive Statcast news, Teheran had above-average fastball spin and finished in the 84th percentile in terms of curveball spin.)

Given these less-than-impressive advanced metrics, it wasn’t entirely surprising that the Braves chose to buy out the final year of Teheran’s contract for $1MM rather than pay him a $12MM salary for 2020.  (Teheran was playing on a six-year, $32.4MM extension signed prior to the 2014 season.)  The one-year guarantee from L.A. was also less than the two-year, $18MM MLBTR projected for him at the outset of the offseason.  The Teheran signing looks somewhat akin to the short-term signings of Matt Harvey and Trevor Cahill that Angels GM Billy Eppler orchestrated last winter, though obviously Eppler will be hoping for much more than the near-minimal return Harvey and Cahill brought to the 2019 Angels.

With Teheran now in the fold, the Angels have a projected luxury tax payroll of just over $185.5MM, as per Roster Resource’s Jason Martinez.  There’s still plenty of daylight between the Angels (who have never paid a tax penalty) and the $208MM luxury tax threshold, so Los Angeles has room to still make more additions to the pitching staff or the roster as a whole.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Braves Not Ruling Out Re-Signing Julio Teheran

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Although the Braves bought out right-hander Julio Teheran’s 2020 option on Monday, that doesn’t necessarily mean the two sides’ longstanding union is over. General manager Alex Anthopoulos indicated after letting Teheran go that he hasn’t slammed the door on signing the hurler to a new contract, per David O’Brien of The Athletic (subscription link).

“We’ll continue to stay in contact with him,” Anthopoulos said. “Obviously, he’ll have a chance now to test the market and talk to other teams. But I think there’s an openness on both sides to continue the relationship. So, we’ll see where that leads.”

While Teheran’s no longer the front-end starter he looked like earlier in his career, the two-time All-Star has at least been a productive source of innings throughout his MLB tenure. Teheran just turned in his seventh straight season with no fewer than 30 starts (33) or 170-plus frames (174 2/3). He pitched to an above-average 3.81 ERA along the way, but as has typically been the case, ERA indicators such as FIP (4.66), xFIP (5.26) and SIERA (5.11) were far less bullish. Teheran did strike out a career-high 8.35 batters per nine, but he also walked 4.28, continued to induce grounders at a less-than-stellar clip (39 percent), and saw his average fastball velocity drop to a personal-low 89.7 mph. Those are just some of the red flags that may have scared off the Braves, who turned down paying Teheran $12MM for next season in favor of a $1MM buyout.

Now that he’s on the free-agent market, Teheran – who still has one more season left in his 20s – has a chance to score an overall larger guarantee than the one the Braves rejected. MLBTR regards Teheran as one of a few starters who could secure a pact in the $18MM range over two years.

Anthopoulos’ words aside, it obviously looks doubtful Atlanta will end up as the team to hand Teheran his next deal. The Braves instead appear poised to redirect some of what would have been Teheran’s money in an effort to reel in a bigger fish, as they’ll go after “a front-line starter” to join the returning trio of Mike Soroka, Max Fried and Mike Foltynewicz, O’Brien writes.

Gerrit Cole or Stephen Strasburg are hands down the top unsigned starters in the sport, but both seem like unrealistic targets for Atlanta. Zack Wheeler, Madison Bumgarner, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Jake Odorizzi, Dallas Keuchel (a Brave in 2019) and Cole Hamels are among the best of the rest, and no one there will rival Cole or Strasburg in earning power. However, it’s up for debate how many of them are legitimate rotation headliners at this point. The Braves could also explore the trade market, where the Tigers’ Matthew Boyd (an ATL target over the summer) and the Indians’ Corey Kluber are among those who may be rumor mill regulars this winter.

Braves Decline Options Over Teheran, Hamilton; Issue Qualifying Offer To Josh Donaldson

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The Braves announced today that they have declined options over righty Julio Teheran and center fielder Billy Hamilton. In other news, the club made a qualifying offer to third baseman Josh Donaldson.

In Teheran’s case — the most interesting one of the three — the club will pay a $1MM buyout rather than picking up the option at $12MM. It isn’t entirely surprising to see that the Braves are ready to move on from the long-time rotation stalwart, but it had been possible to imagine the team exercising the option and then trading him.

Teheran has never been the ace that some once expected him to be. But he has generally been quite effective, with a 3.67 lifetime ERA and sub-4.00 marks in each of the past two campaigns. And Teheran has been freakishly durable, scarcely missing a single outing and averaging 191 innings since his first full season in 2013.

It’s debatable just how much interest Teheran will draw on the open market. But it’s plenty possible to imagine teams considering multi-year offers. Beyond his excellent health record, Teheran is still just 28 years of age.

As for Hamilton, claimed off waivers in August, there was never any chance his mutual option would be exercised by the team at a $7.5MM price tag. He’ll take a $1MM buyout with him as he goes back onto the open market.

It was equally obvious that Donaldson would receive the $17.8MM qualifying offer at $17.8MM. The Braves paid him more than that for one season already and got everything they bargained for. There’s no question Donaldson will turn down the offer and take to free agency.

Julio Teheran Replaces Chris Martin On Braves’ NLDS Roster

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Right-hander Julio Teheran will replace injured reliever Chris Martin on the Braves’ postseason roster, the team announced Friday morning. Mark Bowman of MLB.com tweets that with Teheran now on board, he’ll likely draw the starting nod in a theoretical Game 4, with lefty Max Fried continuing on as a relief option for the rest of the series.

Martin didn’t throw a pitch in last night’s contest, as he sustained an oblique strain when coming out of the ’pen to begin the eighth inning. At the time, Atlanta held a 3-1 lead but quickly saw things unravel when right-handers Luke Jackson and Mark Melancon combined to surrender six earned runs while recording a collective total of five outs. Despite a pair of ninth-inning homers from Ronald Acuna Jr. and Freddie Freeman, the Braves were left stunned by a 7-6 loss at the hands of the NL Central champion Cardinals.

Fried had been tentatively lined up to start Game 4, if necessary, after being available out of the ’pen in the first couple games of the series. He tossed 14 pitches and picked up two strikeouts in a flawless inning of relief yesterday, and if he’s going to be reserved for a bullpen role for the remainder of the NLDS, it stands to reason that he’ll be more available for multi-inning work now as well.

Martin’s injury, meanwhile, likely brings an end to his time with the Braves. While Atlanta could re-sign him, he’s a free agent at season’s end and will also have the opportunity to explore offers from other clubs. Acquired on July 30 in a trade that sent pitching prospect Kolby Allard to the Rangers, the 33-year-old Martin logged a 4.08 ERA and a sensational 22-to-1 K/BB ratio in 17 2/3 innings with the Braves.

The unfortunate injury also gives the 28-year-old Teheran what could be one final opportunity to pitch in a Braves uniform. While he’s controlled for the 2020 season via a $12MM club option ($1MM buyout), there’s no guarantee that the Braves opt to exercise that clause. (MLBTR readers weighed in on the subject last night and were evenly split when polled about his future.) In 174 2/3 innings this season, Teheran pitched to a 3.81 ERA with 8.4 K/9, 4.3 BB/9, 1.13 HR/9 and a 39 percent ground-ball rate. Those are solid enough numbers, but Teheran’s walk rate has risen significantly over the past two seasons while his velocity has dropped (career-low 89.7 mph average fastball in ’19).

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