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Julio Teheran

Julio Teheran Opts Out Of Minors Deal With Orioles

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The Orioles announced this morning that veteran right-hander Julio Teheran has opted out with his minor league deal with the club. The 33-year-old veteran signed with Baltimore earlier this month after opting out of a previous minor league deal with the Cubs, but he’ll now return to free agency in search of a better opportunity elsewhere.

A veteran of 13 seasons in the majors, Teheran made his debut with the Braves back in 2011 but didn’t step into a full time role with the club as a member of their rotation until 2013. The righty went on to spend the next seven seasons in a mid-rotation role with the club, making at least 30 starts in each of those seasons and pitching to a 3.64 ERA (111 ERA+) with a 4.22 FIP overall during that time. That impressive durability allowed him to post the ninth-most innings among all major league pitchers between 2013 and 2019 while starting less games than only Jon Lester, Jose Quintana, and Max Scherzer within that timeframe.

After the 2019 campaign, Teheran departed the Braves and began to bounce around the league with stops in several different organizations over the past five years. Looking just at his time playing for clubs in the majors, he’s suited up for the Mets, Brewers, Tigers, and Angels since that time, appearing in every major league season during that period except the 2022 campaign when he pitched in the Atlantic League and Mexican League outside of affiliated ball. His results have taken a noticeable step back in recent years as he’s struggled to a 6.10 ERA and nearly matching 6.11 FIP in 110 2/3 innings of work, although his time in Milwaukee did see him post a 4.40 ERA (100 ERA+) in 71 2/3 innings last year.

That decent showing with the Brewers was enough to earn Teheran a minor league deal with Baltimore entering Spring Training, although he returned to free agency and signed with the Mets when the Orioles opted not to include him on their Opening Day roster. Teheran’s stint in Queens lasted just one start (where he allowed four runs on six hits and two walks in 2 2/3 frames) before he was designated for assignment by the club. He eventually signed on with Chicago as a depth option amid a rash of injuries to the Cubs’ big league rotation, though he never got the call to the majors before opting out with the club.

That’s more or less the same story as his second stint in Baltimore of the year, as he joined the Orioles amid injuries to Dean Kremer, John Means, Tyler Wells, and Kyle Bradish but was nonetheless unable to break onto the big league roster after surrendering an 8.94 ERA in 12 combined starts at the Triple-A level between his time in the Cubs and Orioles organizations. Those atrocious results surely contributed to Baltimore’s decision not to add him to the big league roster, but it’s certainly still possible to imagine the righty attracting enough interest on the open market to earn a spot in another club’s minor league system, where he could serve as a depth option for a rotation-needy club if he can get his results back on track in the minors.

Orioles, Julio Teheran Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Orioles have agreed to a deal with right-hander Julio Teheran, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. It’ll be a minor league pact, Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner adds.

Teheran, a client of Mato Sports Management, opted out of a minor league deal with the Cubs over the weekend. This is his second deal of the season with the Orioles, who originally signed him to a minor league pact back in spring training. Teheran opted out of that deal upon being informed he wouldn’t make the Opening Day roster. He went on to sign with the Mets, for whom he logged one start before being released, and then his more recent minor league pact with the Cubs.

While the O’s clearly didn’t feel they had a spot for Teheran at the end of camp, the calculus has changed. Both left-hander John Means and right-hander Tyler Wells recently underwent surgery to repair UCL tears in their pitching elbows, knocking them out for the remainder of the season. Right-hander Dean Kremer is also on the shelf at the moment, owing to a triceps strain. Baltimore’s current five-man rotation includes Corbin Burnes, Kyle Bradish (who rehabbed his own UCL sprain without surgery), Grayson Rodriguez, Cole Irvin and journeyman Albert Suarez.

The 33-year-old Teheran was tagged for four runs in 2 2/3 innings during that lone start with the Mets and has spent the rest of the regular season with the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate in Iowa. Things haven’t gone much better there, however. The longtime Braves hurler has made eight starts in Des Moines and been roughed up to the tune of 32 runs in 32 2/3 innings — an 8.82 earned run average. He’s yielded 48 hits — eight of them homers — and issued 11 walks against 37 punchouts.

It’s not an inspiring sample of work, but the O’s are potentially heartened by Teheran’s 23.1% strikeout rate and 6.9% walk rate, both of which are far more encouraging than his dismal ERA. The righty has also been plagued by a bloated .400 average on balls in play, which surely hasn’t helped his cause. More broadly, it’s clear the Orioles see something they like in Teheran’s raw stuff. He’s now twice signed with them this season, so the Orioles likely feel they have some tweaks or adjustments that can help the well-traveled right-hander improve on that minor league output.

It should also be noted that Teheran is only months removed from a solid 2023 showing with the Brewers. In 71 2/3 innings last year, he delivered a respectable 4.40 ERA in Milwaukee. Teheran’s 17.4% strikeout rate was only about three-quarters of the way to league-average, but his 4.5% walk rate was nothing short of excellent. Looking through an even wider lens, Teheran has a 3.85 ERA in nearly 1500 big league innings, although much of his success came in his early to mid-20s with the Braves during the 2010s. For now, he’ll give the O’s some experienced depth on which to lean in the event of further injuries.

Julio Teheran To Opt Out Of Minors Deal With Cubs

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Veteran right-hander Julio Teheran is opting out of his minor league deal with the Cubs, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Teheran signed with the Cubs back in April after a brief stint with the Mets earlier this year but now appears poised to return to the open market as a free agent.

Teheran, 33, has pitched in parts of 13 big league seasons since he made his debut with the Braves back in 2011. The right-hander first stepped into a full time role with the club as a member of their rotation back in 2013 and spent the next seven seasons in a mid-rotation role with the club, making at least 30 starts in each of those seasons and pitching to a 3.64 ERA (111 ERA+) with a 4.22 FIP overall during that time. That impressive durability allowed him to post the ninth-most innings among all big league pitchers across those seven seasons while making less starts than only Jon Lester, Jose Quintana, and Max Scherzer during that timeframe.

Teheran’s time with the Braves came to an end following the 2019 campaign, however, and he’s bounced between several MLB organizations in the five years since then. He’s pitched for the Angels, Tigers, Brewers, and Mets at the big league level during that time and spent the 2022 campaign out of affiliated ball, instead pitching in the Atlantic League and Mexican League that year. The right-hander’s results at the big league level have left something to be desired since he departed Atlanta; in 110 2/3 big league innings since the start of the 2020 season, Teheran has posted a 6.10 ERA with a nearly matching 6.11 FIP while striking out just 16.1% of batters faced.

While those results certainly leave something to be desired, Teheran’s 14-appearance stint with the Brewers last year, where he posted a league average 4.40 ERA with a 4.93 FIP in 71 2/3 innings, provided some reason for optimism that he could still be a useful arm at the big league level. That was enough to earn Teheran a one-year big league deal with the Mets in early April, although he only made one start for the club before being designated for assignment and returning to the open market. That’s when Teheran landed with the Cubs, who at the time were dealing with injuries to Justin Steele and Jameson Taillon in the rotation while veteran starter Kyle Hendricks was struggling badly.

Since then, however, Steele and Taillon have returned from the shelf to join Shota Imanaga in the club’s rotation and youngsters Ben Brown and Javier Assad have impressed in starting roles of their own, clouding Teheran’s path back to the big leagues in the Cubs organization. With the aforementioned quintet, Hayden Wesneski, and perhaps even Hendricks all ahead of him on the organizational depth chart, it’s understandable that Teheran would prefer to return to the open market in hopes of finding a club that can offer him a clearer path to the big leagues.

Teheran’s performance at Triple-A Iowa during his time with Chicago is unlikely to help him in that endeavor, as he struggled badly with an 8.82 ERA in 32 2/3 innings of work. Still, it’s certainly feasible to imagine a club in need of starting depth offering Teheran a spot in their minor league system, where an injury or two could create an opportunity for the 33-year-old to make his way back to the majors.

Cubs Sign Julio Teheran To Minor League Deal

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April 15: It’s a minor league deal for Teheran, tweets ESPN’s Jesse Rogers.

April 14: The Cubs have signed right-hander Julio Teheran, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post (Twitter link).  After the Mets designated Teheran for assignment earlier on Tuesday, he opted for free agency after clearing waivers, and has now quickly landed with a new team to complete a whirlwind week.

Teheran’s time in New York lasted all of one start, as he allowed four runs over 2 2/3 innings in an 8-7 win over the Braves on April 8.  Since the Mets signed Teheran to a Major League (albeit non-guaranteed) contract, one imagines that the team would’ve given him a longer look if he had pitched well, but the Mets chose to move one once roster technicalities allowed them to recall Jose Butto.

Since the Cubs are also trying to deal with some injuries within the rotation, Teheran looks like he’ll again be in line to cover a few starts until the team gets healthier.  Jameson Taillon might be close to returning from the 15-day injured list but Justin Steele will still be out until sometime in May, leaving the Cubs with a current rotation mix of Kyle Hendricks, Shota Imanaga, Jordan Wicks, Javier Assad, and Ben Brown.  There isn’t much MLB experience within that group apart from Hendricks, so between Taillon’s return and Teheran’s signing, Brown seems like the odd man out, and the Cubs can then decide on whether Wicks or Assad will remain as the fifth starter.  It is also possible that Teheran could pitch as a depth option at Triple-A, if Chicago wants a longer look at any of their younger arms.

Teheran pitched for Milwaukee last season, meaning Cubs manager and ex-Brewers skipper Craig Counsell is very familiar with the veteran righty.  Teheran’s 71 2/3 innings with the Brew Crew represented his highest Major League workload since the 2019 season, and he delivered a respectable 4.40 ERA while starting 11 of his 14 games for Milwaukee.  A two-time All-Star during his heyday with the Braves, Teheran moved from front-of-the-rotation arm to durable mid-rotation starter to journeyman, as the Cubs are now his seventh different organization since the start of the 2020 campaign.

Julio Teheran Elects Free Agency

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Julio Teheran has elected free agency after clearing waivers, tweets Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. The Mets had designated him for assignment on Tuesday.

Teheran’s stint as a Met couldn’t have been much shorter. The veteran righty agreed to terms on a major league deal on April 3, a move that was announced by the team two days later. Skipper Carlos Mendoza tabbed him for a start in Atlanta on Monday. Teheran allowed four runs without making it out of the third inning and was DFA one day later.

While it wasn’t the most productive tenure, Teheran banked a major league salary for around a week. His contract called for a prorated $2.5MM salary for time spent in the majors, so he collected upwards of $80K. That’s a decent outcome for a player who had opted out of a minor league pact with the Orioles at the end of Spring Training.

The 33-year-old now sets out in search of his third organization of the 2024 campaign. He may need to settle for a minor league contract this time around, but he should find interest from teams looking for experienced rotation depth. Teheran started 11 of 14 appearances with the Brewers last season, allowing 4.40 earned runs per nine innings.

That was Teheran’s heaviest workload at the major league level since 2019. A two-time All-Star during his nine-year tenure with the Braves, he has pitched for four clubs since the start of the ’20 campaign. Over the last four-plus seasons, Teheran owns a 6.10 ERA with a well below-average 16.1% strikeout rate against a solid 7.2% walk percentage.

Mets Designate Julio Teheran For Assignment

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The Mets have designated right-handed pitcher Julio Teheran for assignment, according to an announcement from the club. In a corresponding move, the team selected right-hander Dedniel Núñez from Triple-A Syracuse.

Teheran and the club just agreed to a one-year, $2.5MM deal last week, but Tim Healey of Newsday reports today that the contract was non-guaranteed and prorated with Teheran collecting $54K for his brief stint on the roster, though Healey also adds that Teheran’s prorated deal will continue to pay him while he’s in DFA limbo.

Teheran took the ball for the Mets last night against a tough Atlanta lineup and clearly struggled. It took him 68 pitches to get through 2 2/3 innings, allowing four earned runs via six hits and two walks, striking out three in the process.

The Mets were put in a position to need an extra starting pitcher by some recent injuries. They knew long ago that David Peterson had hip surgery and wouldn’t be an option early in this season, but then Kodai Senga was diagnosed with a moderate posterior capsule strain in his throwing shoulder in late February. That left a spot open for a depth arm like Tylor Megill, Joey Lucchesi or Jose Buttó. Megill won that job but then suffered a right shoulder strain after just one start.

Neither Lucchesi nor Buttó could be recalled right away to replace Megill since they were optioned to start the season and an optional assignment comes with a 15-day minimum stay. An exception that rule is allowed for a double-header, which is why Buttó was allowed to be the club’s “27th man” and pitch on April 4, but he wasn’t allowed to stay after due to the 15-day rule. Teheran filled that rotation job for one outing but it seems Buttó will be coming up this weekend once he’s eligible, per Tim Healey of Newsday and Mike Puma of The New York Post.

The Mets will now have a week to trade Teheran or try to pass him through waivers. The latter scenario will largely be a moot point since Teheran is a veteran with well over five years of major league service time, meaning he can reject an outright assignment in favor of electing free agency.

Teheran had a bit of a bounceback year in 2023, tossing 71 2/3 innings over 11 starts and three relief appearances with a 4.40 earned run average. He only struck out 17.4% of batters faced but limited walks to a 4.5% clip. Those results aren’t super exciting but still were a bit of a return to form for him. He didn’t pitch in the majors at all in 2022 and was only allowed to take the ball once in 2021 after he posted an ERA of 10.05 for the Angels in the shortened 2020 season.

Prior to that, he was a mainstay in the Atlanta rotation, making 222 starts from 2013 to 2019 with a 3.64 ERA, 21.1% strikeout rate and 8.1% walk rate. Last year’s performance with the Brewers wasn’t quite at that level but was a turnaround after three challenging years. Given the enormous amount of pitching injuries around the league right now, it’s possible that Teheran will garner interest from clubs in search of innings.

Núñez, 28 in June, has not yet appeared in a major league game but he does have one year of major league service time. That’s because the Giants selected him from the Mets in the 2020 Rule 5 draft but he required Tommy John surgery before the 2021 season started and he eventually spent all of that year on the injured list, with the Giants returning him to the Mets after that year.

He split 2023 between Double-A and Triple-A with a 5.53 ERA in 57 innings, striking out 26.8% of batters faced but also walking 12.3%. He has thrown 3 1/3 scoreless innings at Triple-A so far this year, with five strikeouts and just one walk. Back in February, Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs mentioned Núñez as a pitcher who could debut for the Mets this year thanks to his high 90s heat, but also expressed concerns about the lack of control.

Mets Designate Michael Tonkin For Assignment

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The Mets have made their signing of right-hander Julio Teheran official today, announcing the move today. Fellow righty Michael Tonkin designated for assignment as the corresponding move, with Anthony DiComo of MLB.com among those to relay the move.

Tonkin, 34, was signed by the Mets to a major league deal in December. That pact came with a modest guarantee of $1MM, just a bit north of the $740K league minimum. One week into the season, the Mets have already used their bullpen a lot, with Tonkin tossing four innings over three appearances. He allowed two earned runs on six hits and one walk, striking out three.

Just about everyone in the Mets’ bullpen was used in yesterday’s doubleheader and most of them can’t be optioned to the minors, giving them little flexibility back there. They also needed a 40-man roster spot for Teheran, who was signed to bolster the rotation after the recent injuries to Kodai Senga and Tylor Megill. Those two factors have seemingly nudged Tonkin off the club and into the DFA gulf.

The Mets will now have one week to trade Tonkin or pass him through waivers. He’s coming off a solid bounceback season in 2023 after a bit of a journey in the wilderness. He pitched for the Twins from 2013 to 2017, then spent a few years traveling to pitch in Japan, Mexico, the Atlantic League’s Long Island Ducks and various minor league clubs.

He resurfaced with Atlanta last year and tossed 80 innings over 45 relief appearances with a 4.28 earned run average. He struck out 23.1% of batters faced in that time while giving out walks at a 7.1% clip. If any club is interested in adding a well-traveled veteran to their bullpen, Tonkin should be available to them in the next few days.

If Tonkin were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he would have the right to reject an outright assignment as a player with more than three years of major league service time. However, he lacks the five years of service necessary to both elect free agency and retain his salary, so perhaps he would decide to report to Triple-A and keep that $1MM flowing if that scenario comes to pass.

Mets To Sign Julio Teheran

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1:23pm: It’s a one-year, $2.5MM deal for Teheran that comes with an additional $450K available in incentives, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports. With six days of the season already elapsed, that’d come out to $2.419MM in prorated, guaranteed money for Teheran (assuming the deal becomes official today). The Mets are in the fourth and final tier of luxury penalization and are in their third straight year of penalization, meaning they’re paying a 110% tax on any dollars spent. That’s about $2.661MM in taxes, bringing the total tab on Teheran to about $5.08MM for the Mets.

12:50pm: The Mets have agreed to a deal with free agent righty Julio Teheran, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The Mato Sports Management client opted out of a minor league deal with the Orioles late in camp and has been exploring the market for new opportunities. It’s a big league deal for Teheran, per SNY’s Andy Martino, who reported earlier in the week that the Mets were in talks with the veteran right-hander.

After barely seeing the big leagues in 2021-22, the 33-year-old had a somewhat resurgent year with the 2023 Brewers — where current Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns previously ran baseball operations (and served in an advisory capacity last year). The former Braves top prospect tossed 71 2/3 innings with a 4.40 ERA in Milwaukee, striking out just 17.4% of his opponents but offsetting that lackluster mark with a sterling 4.5% walk rate.

Formerly one of the game’s top-ranked prospects, Teheran broke into the majors and hit the ground running in Atlanta. From 2013-14, he posted a 3.03 ERA in 63 starts. Over a seven-year period in Atlanta, spanning 2013-19, Teheran worked to an overall 3.64 ERA in 1334 innings. He’s never missed bats at an especially premium level, but Teheran has long had strong command and, at least earlier in his career, excelled at avoiding hard contact.

That said, last year’s showing in Milwaukee was the first time Teheran has had any consistent success since making 33 starts with a 3.81 ERA for the 2019 Braves. He signed a one-year deal in Anaheim prior to the 2020 season but was shelled for an ERA north of 10.00 in his 31 1/3 frames.

The Mets’ rotation has been hit hard by injuries early on. Kodai Senga suffered a shoulder strain early in spring training, leading to a nearly month-long shutdown. (He’s since resumed throwing.) That injury pushed Tylor Megill into the starting rotation, but he suffered a shoulder strain on his own in his first start of the season and is now on the injured list and in the midst of a weeklong shutdown period himself.

Presumably, given that this is a big league deal and that Teheran got some work in with Baltimore during spring training, he’ll be an option to step into the fifth rotation spot in Queens. Teheran pitched 13 1/3 official innings with the Orioles in camp, holding opponents to five runs (3.38 ERA) on nine hits — albeit with a lackluster 10-to-7 K/BB ratio in that time (17.5% strikeout rate, 12.3% walk rate). If he indeed steps onto the starting staff, Teheran will be joined by Jose Quintana, Adrian Houser, Sean Manaea and Luis Severino.

Mets Talking With Julio Teheran

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The Mets placed righty Tylor Megill on the 15-day injured list with a shoulder strain earlier this afternoon, and SNY’s Andy Martino reports that they’re open to pursuing external options to help bolster their depth while waiting on Megill and other injured arms to heal up. They’ve picked conversations back up with right-hander Julio Teheran, per Martino. The Mets also talked with Teheran before he signed a minor league deal to go to camp with the Orioles. He wound up opting out of that deal and, per Martino, has other teams currently showing interest in him at the moment.

The 33-year-old Teheran had a resurgence of sorts with the Brewers in 2023. He didn’t pitch in 2022, had just five innings in 2021 and had been rocked for a 10.05 ERA in 31 1/3 frames during the 2020 season. But Teheran wound up tossing 71 2/3 innings of serviceable 4.40 ERA ball for Milwaukee, fanning a well below-average 17.4% of his opponents but also issuing walks at just a 4.5% clip.

During his minor league days with the Braves, Teheran was considered one of the best prospects in the entire sport. Baseball America ranked him as the No. 5 prospect in all of baseball in both 2011 and 2012. He made good on that billing for several seasons early in his career, too. Teheran logged a 3.03 ERA in 63 starts from 2013-14 and logged a collective 3.64 ERA in 1334 innings from 2013-19 before falling into a swift decline.

Last year’s showing in Milwaukee was the first time Teheran has had any consistent success since making 33 starts with a 3.81 ERA for the 2019 Braves. He pitched 13 1/3 official innings with the Orioles this spring, holding opponents to five runs (3.38 ERA) on nine hits … but with a lackluster 10-to-7 K/BB ratio in that time (17.5% strikeout rate, 12.3% walk rate).

Notably, current Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns was still in the Brewers organization when they signed Teheran last summer, albeit in an advisory capacity rather than atop the baseball operations hierarchy, as he was from 2015-22. Still, there’s a connection, and we’ve seen Stearns bring in a handful of his former Brewers in his first year leading the Mets’ front office (e.g. Adrian Houser, Tyrone Taylor, Jorge Lopez). The Mets were also reported to have strong interest in former Brewers lefty Brent Suter as a free agent, but he opted to sign with his hometown Reds.

The Mets figure to be just one of several teams looking into Teheran. Already this season, we’ve seen the Yankees, Cubs, Astros, Twins, Rangers, Marlins and Red Sox incur injuries of note in the rotation. Any could make speculative sense for a low-cost veteran like Teheran.

Julio Teheran Opts Out Of Deal With Orioles

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March 23: Teheran has exercised his opt-out clause, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. He now figures to return to free agency where he’ll hunt for a new deal that offers him a better chance of receiving playing time in the big leagues.

March 22: Veteran righty Julio Teheran intends to trigger an opt-out clause in his minor league contract with the Orioles if he doesn’t make the Opening Day roster, reports Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner (X link). The O’s will need to decide in the next few days whether to give him an MLB spot or let him retest free agency. His contract would come with a $2MM base salary if he makes the team.

Baltimore signed Teheran a little less than one month ago. He has started three of four appearances in camp, allowing five runs with a 7:5 strikeout-to-walk ratio through 9 1/3 innings. There’s not a whole lot to be gleaned from that small sample, although it hasn’t been a resoundingly strong performance.

If Teheran were to make the team, it’d very likely come in a long relief role. O’s manager Brandon Hyde confirmed yesterday that they’ll open the season with a rotation of Corbin Burnes, Grayson Rodriguez, Tyler Wells, Dean Kremer and Cole Irvin (link via Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com). Righty Kyle Bradish and southpaw John Means are each starting the year on the injured list. GM Mike Elias told reporters this afternoon that both pitchers are expected to contribute early in the first half of the upcoming season (X link via MLB.com’s Jake Rill).

The O’s don’t have a ton of flexibility to accommodate a long reliever. Craig Kimbrel, Danny Coulombe, Yennier Cano, Jacob Webb, Cionel Pérez and Dillon Tate should all have bullpen spots secure. Mike Baumann is out of options and has tossed 5 2/3 scoreless frames with six strikeouts this spring. It’d be a surprise if the O’s risked losing him on waivers. That would leave only one spot available. Lefty Keegan Akin still has an option remaining, but he has outpitched Teheran in camp, fanning 10 without allowing a run over 7 1/3 innings.

Teheran worked mostly as a starter a season ago. He opened 11 of 14 appearances as a member of the Brewers. Teheran allowed 4.40 earned runs per nine across 71 2/3 innings. He struck out a below-average 17.4% of opponents while keeping his walks to a pristine 4.5% clip.

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