Julio Teheran To Opt Out Of Minors Deal With Cubs

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.