The Baltimore Orioles pitching staff just got a little deeper with the signing of veteran right-hander Julio Teherán. According to Jon Heyman, Teherán and the Orioles are in agreement on a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training. Teherán will receive $2 million if he reaches the big league roster and his contract includes a $100,000 signing bonus and an opt-out clause.
With both Kyle Bradish and John Means starting the season on the injured list, general manager Mike Elias made it clear that he was still in the market for pitching depth. On Tuesday, Elias made his move by signing Julio Teherán to a minor league contract.
Orioles, Julio Teherán Agree to Minor League Deal
Teherán has been a starter for most of his career and could provide Baltimore with a spot start or long relief. Teherán, who turned 33 last month, is a two-time All-Star with 12 years of major league service time. He spent nine years with the Atlanta Braves where he was a two-time All-Star and a Rookie of the Year candidate in 2013. After leaving the Braves in 2019, Teherán has bounced around the major leagues and was with the Brewers last season.
He started 11 of 14 outings for the Milwaukee Brewers last season posting a 4.40 ERA over 71.2 innings. Teherán showed excellent command in Milwaukee keeping his walks under the 5% threshold. He isn’t a high strikeout pitcher with a 17.4% strikeout ratio last season and gets most of his outs from groundballs. Teherán struggled with the Angels in the shortened 2020 season pitching to a 10.05 ERA over 10 games. Injuries limited the right-hander to one start with Detroit in 2021 and spent the 2022 season in independent leagues.
Teherán doesn’t throw particularly hard at this stage of his career but has found success in his secondary pitches. He owns a 3.83 ERA and a 1.219 WHIP over 254 career games. While Tyler Wells and Cole Irvin are expected to fill the two openings in the rotation, Teherán brings much-needed depth to the Baltimore pitching staff.
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