Should the Atlanta Braves keep or trade Julio Teheran?

Need Backup Now?

I’m not one for hot takes, and honestly, my opinion doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things; but the topic surrounding whether or not to move Julio Teheran has been a highly debated subject of late.

If you’re wanting to trade him there are different ways to look at it:

• Should the Braves trade him now? 
• Should they wait until mid-season?
• Should they wait until next Winter?

If you’re wanting to keep him there are also different ways to look at it?

• Should he start?
• Should he move to the bullpen?
• Should we even be expecting top-of-the-rotation production from him?

Of note… and this will factor into the equation… Teheran’s contract runs through this season, but the Braves also hold an option to extend him through 2020 for $12,000,000 ($1 million buyout).  He is making $11 million this season.

Normally, teams do not exercise an option and then turn around to trade a player elsewhere.  Options decisions are made shortly after the World Series and before the traditional ‘trading season’.

With a full year of control, plus the option for a second, Teheran’s best trade value is simply this: right here and right now. That said … there hasn’t been even a sniff of trade rumors involving the veteran right-hander.

Then again, that may not be the right tactic at this point anyway.

Related Concerns

I don’t think anyone knows exactly the right answer or exactly what General Manager Alex Anthopoulos is planning to do. One thing I think is pretty certain:  Julio Teheran will most likely be in the starting rotation for the Atlanta Braves at the start of the 2019 season.

It’s been pretty obvious that Anthopoulos is done making moves, but there have been rumors surrounding reliever and Free Agent Craig Kimbrel… though most of that is wish-casting on the part of Braves’ fans.

However, it seems that the Washington Nationals are trying to move in and crash the party. But there’s also reports that the Nationals aren’t exactly interested in splurging anymore this season, at least not before the season begins:

That said… they can’t afford him without shredding the luxury tax barrier.

Now Craig Kimbrel shouldn’t really have a direct effect on Julio Teheran’s status for the Atlanta Braves; but if the Braves indeed were to sign Kimbrel, then you can just about bet that the Braves are most definitely not going to replace Teheran with a starting pitcher, as it would require them to make another move.

Also, with all of the current ailments to the Braves pitchers, I’m not even sure if “swapping” or “replacing” are the correct terms regarding the circumstance that the team is in right now.

If anything, the Braves need to add to the rotation, a goal that had been discussed at length during the Winter, but didn’t materialize.

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My thoughts are that the Braves are now looking at Julio Teheran as simply more depth to assist them now that there are serious question marks in terms of the team’s pitching health. It seems like the Braves could be in the mode of: “We need all the pitchers we can get!”.

Right or wrong, I highly doubt Braves management are going to seriously count on one of the young pitching prospects (Fried, Allard, Wright, Wilson..etc) to provide a large number of innings for the Braves in 2019. At least that’s what has been largely perceived so far.

However, the Braves may have no choice if a couple of the current rotation members find themselves on the shelf due to injury.

Options Exist

We will just have to wait and see what happens. This past week and weekend, when several Braves pitchers were being sidelined due to soreness and other arm troubles, attention quickly went to Free Agent pitcher Dallas Keuchel, but as Mark Bowman reported last week – the Braves aren’t concerned enough to drop the dough on Keuchel:

"Even though Kevin Gausman has also been slowed because of a sore right shoulder, the Braves have not become concerned enough about either of these ailments to begin thinking about the possibility of pursuing Dallas Keuchel, the former Cy Young Award winner who has not drawn much interest from Atlanta since hitting the free-agent market in November."

It seems like Alex Anthopoulos has set a plan, and literally no matter what he isn’t going to deviate from it. It doesn’t seem like Gausman nor Foltynewicz are suffering anything major, but Foltynewicz could miss Opening Day:

In my opinion, if the fact that there’s a real possibility that the Braves staff-ace could miss some time to open the season, and it still hasn’t prompted a known plan to address the rotation; then the possibility of a trade or an addition affecting Julio Teheran is probably doubtful.

With the way Teheran pitched today, and the current state of the Braves rotation, what do you think should happen? Should the Braves keep Julio Teheran now, or does he still need to be traded? Let us know below!