In addition to those small moves with Nick Markakis and Tyler Flowers, the Braves made a slightly more significant one in declining the 2020 option for starter Julio Teherán, making him a free agent.
Teheran, who has been a Brave since his debut in 2011, was 10-11 with a 3.81 ERA (119 ERA+) in 2019. For the second straight year he posted an 8.3 K/9 and a 4.3 BB/9 while pitching exactly one inning less this year -- 174.2 -- than last. You kinda know what you’re gonna get with him. Some rough outings in which he’s shelled early alternating, more or less, with stretches of fairly solid mid-to-back-of-the-rotation performance. That ERA in 2019 certainly feels deceptive. When you watch him -- and when you dig into the peripheral numbers -- you begin to feel like there’s a little less there than meets the eye.
Teherán is a guy who belongs on a big league staff but who the Braves don’t believe will be worth the $12 million that option they declined would’ve paid him. Now anyone can sign him.
