Brewers agree to major league deal with two-time All-Star pitcher

The Brewers agreed to a major league contract with free-agent righty Julio Teheran, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (Twitter link). Teheran, a client of Mato Sports Management, opted out of a minor league deal with the Padres Monday.

Teheran, 32, figures to step in to an injury-depleted Brewers rotation that just saw lefty Eric Lauer join fellow southpaw Wade Miley and right-hander Brandon Woodruff on the injured list. Beyond that trio, depth options like Aaron Ashby and Jason Alexander are also on the 60-day IL, leaving the Brewers with a current rotation of Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta, Adrian Houser and Colin Rea.

Once one of baseball’s top pitching prospects, Teheran began his career with a terrific four-year stretch (2013-16) in Atlanta that saw him post a 3.33 ERA over 795 2/3 innings. Along the way, he made a pair of All-Star teams and finished fifth in 2013 NL Rookie of the Year voting. He remained a solid starter from 2017-19, but his command began to worse in that time and his velocity started to slip as well.

Upon departing the Braves after the 2019 season, Teheran inked a one-year deal with the Angels but was limited to just 31 1/3 innings — during which he posted a ghastly ERA north of 10.00. He allowed one run in five frames for the 2021 Tigers but hasn’t appeared in the majors since. Teheran split the 2022 campaign between the independent Atlantic League and the Mexican League before agreeing to a minor league pact with San Diego this past offseason.

While Teheran’s bottom-line numbers with the Padres’ Triple-A club in El Paso this season are unsightly — 40 innings, 5.63 ERA — there’s also some cause for optimism. His 24.3% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate are both solid marks, and he’s pitched well over his past four turns: 21 1/3 innings, 3.74 ERA, 23-to-8 K/BB ratio. In fact, outside of one meltdown against the Mariners’ top affiliate on April 21, Teheran has generally been solid in El Paso. Subtract those eight runs and three innings, and his ERA would drop all the way to 4.14. Any pitcher looks better if you look past his worst start, of course, but Teheran has been good for five to six innings and three or fewer runs in six of his eight starts this year.

The notion of signing Teheran isn’t as exciting as it might’ve been a half decade ago, but the Brewers have been decimated by injury. He’ll give them a stretched-out, ready-made rotation option who’s had some big league success. The Brewers have had their own share of successes in terms of rehabilitating veteran pitchers who’ve fallen on hard times, as evidenced by Miley, Gio Gonzalez, Brad Boxberger and others. For now, they’ll hope that Teheran can step onto the staff and help shore things up while the injured trio of veterans is on the mend.