Atlanta Braves: Would a Julio Teheran reunion help down the stretch?

With the trade deadline approaching, the Atlanta Braves are looking for help in the starting rotation. No doubt, it’s needed with some of the inconsistencies we’ve seen from our prospects.

Why not a reunion with an old friend? That could be former Atlanta Braves hurler Julio Teheran.

Atlanta Braves fans know Julio, and most fans should certainly love him. He gave us 76 wins over seven seasons that spanned from 2013-2019, serving as a reliable middle to the back end of the rotation starter. At this best, he was an All-Star in 2014 an 2016, at his worst, he struggled with his command and to be honest, many fair weather Atlanta Braves fans turned their back on him with negative social media posts.

The 2019 season was an up and down affair for Teheran, but he still finished it with his lowest ERA (3.81) and FIP (4.66) since his 2016 All-Star berth. Inconsistent performances led to the Atlanta Braves letting Teheran go, then he signed a one-year deal with Angels. The signings of Cole Hamels and later, Felix Hernandez seemed to alleviate the need for Teheran.

Enter COVID-19. Hernandez opted out of the 2020 season, and after experiencing injury/soreness issues in spring training, but slowly improving, Hamels hasn’t thrown a pitch yet in an Atlanta Braves uniform. Enter Mike Soroka tearing his achilles while breaking to cover first base, and well, maybe Julio would have been a good insurance policy.

Now, a reunion with Julio wouldn’t be perfect, as he’s had his share of challenges in 2020 as well. He was placed on the injured list for undisclosed reasons on July 7, about a month later, made his return to the mound. Since, he’s struggled, pitching to a 9.77 ERA over 17.2 innings pitched, giving up six home runs.

If the Atlanta Braves could acquire Teheran for little to no cost, he would be worth a flyer. The Angels could take a minor prospect in return, or would maybe ask for cash considerations- but Teheran’s performance has hardly been inspiring.

With Sean Newcomb, Mike Foltynewicz and Kyle Wright all roster casualties for now, and the performances of Touki Toussaint, Hauscar Ynoa and others remaining inconsistent, a flyer may be worth it at a rock-bottom price.

We’ll see what general manager Alex Anthropoulos has up his sleeve in 2020, but unless the price is incredibly low, it’s hard to see Julio in an Atlanta Braves uniform again this year.