Atlanta Braves: Should They Trade Julio Teheran?

The Atlanta Braves have an interesting possible trade chip in Julio Teheran. Teheran struggled badly last season and has seen his name appear in trade rumors. Should the Braves keep Teheran or move on from the right hander?

The Atlanta Braves have more questions this off-season than most teams will face including whether to trade their opening day starter Julio Teheran. After looking like a very good pitcher for two seasons Teheran hit a wall this season.

His ERA ballooned from 3.21 to 4.49 his highest since his second year in the League when he only appeared in two games. Teheran looked especially awful at home struggling to pitch past the third and fourth innings putting up an ugly ERA of 5.86 at home.

The problem for Teheran was obviously pitching at home looking at his splits makes that very obvious. He pitched with a 5.86 ERA at home going 3-10 while on the road pitching to a 3.14 ERA and going 8-3 looking like the Teheran fans are accustomed to seeing.

Pitching at SunTrust Park is considerably harder than Turner Field as the Braves make a switch from a pitcher friendly to a hitter friendly park. Regardless, Teheran’s splits are inexcusable and likely more a case of what is now a mental struggle at home and not only because of the park.

Whether or not Teheran can overcome his struggles at home this next season will either vastly improve or hurt his value.  The Braves are deciding whether or not to take that chance or to start with a fresh rotation and deal Teheran to the highest bidder.

The Braves should listen on Teheran but only accept an offer if they are blown away. Otherwise Teheran should stay in a Braves’ uniform and be given a chance to overcome his struggles. Even with his bad season in mind the Braves are not going to find better production for the price that they are paying Julio Teheran.

At the end of the day the Braves have shown they are going to make the best business decision. In this case the best decision is to keep Teheran and let him attempt to rebuild his value on a team that is in desperate need of innings.

Teheran if nothing else is durable and will provide an innings eater that the Braves lack on the roster at this point. The only way that Teheran should find himself in another uniform is not for prospects but if another team is willing to overpay and send Major League ready talent in return.

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When considering how unlikely that is, the Braves should keep Julio Teheran and give him a chance to remind fans how good he can be.