For most of the 2010s, it was impossible to talk about the Atlanta Braves pitching staff without talking about Julio Teherán. While Teheran never put up eye-popping stats, he made six straight Opening Day starts, finished fifth in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2013, and made two All-Star games.
Although Teherán hasn't pitched for the Braves since 2019, the righty has still been pitching, making his most recent MLB appearance in 2024 with the Mets, as well as pitching in the Mexican League in 2025.
After the World Baseball Classic, where he represented Colombia, the 35-year-old decided to call it a career, announcing he was retiring after Colombia's final game of the tournament.
Julio Teherán has just announced his retirement from baseball. “It was a very difficult decision. Thank you all for your support” pic.twitter.com/FIf2N4UwPL
— Matt Monagan (@MattMonagan) March 9, 2026
Longtime Braves starting pitcher Julio Teherán announces his retirement
Because of his status on the mid-2010 Braves, it's easy to forget just how young Julio Teherán is. In fact, just last season, Atlanta rostered 11 players younger than their former ace, a season where Teherán didn't even make an appearance at the major league level.
The former top prospect debuted at just 20 years old in 2011, making small cups of coffee in 2012 as well. In 2013, he firmly anchored himself in the Braves rotation making 30 starts and finished fifth in the NL Rookie of the Year voting.
In 2014, he made the first of six consecutive Opening Day starts for Atlanta as a 23-year-old, and also made the first of two All-Star appearances that season. While the righty never received Cy Young votes, it wasn't hard to argue that he was the ace of the Braves, especially during the rebuilding seasons from 2015 through 2017.
He was one of just two players to be a part of the club's 2013 NL East division title and their surprise 2018 division title, along with Freddie Freeman. When he threw his final pitch for Atlanta in his ninth season for the Braves, he was just 28 years old, but had been worth 20.2 bWAR in 229 games. Over the next five seasons, Teherán bounced around, playing four four teams, while never making more than 11 starts with any team in this span. 77 of his 81 career wins came with the Braves.
Fittingly, his final MLB appearance came against the Braves. In April 2024, the Mets needed a starter, and turned to the long time Brave, hoping to get anything. Unfortunately, Teherán was hammered for four runs in just 2.2 innings.
Teherán was supposed to start this World Baseball Classic against another former Braves pitcher, Michael Soroka, but was scratched with a shoulder injury. After Colombia was officially eliminated, Teherán formally retired, saying that his favorite memory of his playing career was taking the ball every Opening Day for six straight seasons.
Even though most of Teherán's best years were with bad Braves teams, it's hard to imagine where those teams would have been without him. From 2013 through 2019, he made at least 30 starts per seasons, and had a 3.64 ERA in that span.
We congratulate Teherán on an exceptional MLB career, and wish him the best for whatever comes next!