Los Angeles Angels: The Julio Teheran experiment is yet another bust

After three starts, Julio Teheran has been moved to the Los Angeles Angels ‘pen.

It was supposed to be a low-cost, valuable signing for the Los Angeles Angels, but like their 2020 season as a whole, the Julio Teheran signing hasn’t gone very well for LA this year.

After signing a one-year/$9 million deal to shore up the back end of the starting rotation, Julio Teheran has been removed from LA’s rotation and will pitch out of the bullpen for foreseeable future for manager Joe Maddon.

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Despite seeing tremendous success out of Dylan Bundy after pulling off a deal with the Baltimore Orioles over the winter, the Angels have watched Shohei Ohtani go down to injury (and possibly throw his last pitch with the Angels) and they have watched as Teheran has limped his way through three starts.

Teheran did get a late start to the 2020 season after testing positive for COVID-19, but it’s hard to place all of the blame there.

Through three starts with the Los Angeles Angels, Teheran is 0-2 with a 12.38 ERA, 2.25 WHIP, and an astronomical .361 average against. He’s managed just eight total innings, walking five, striking out six, and giving up four home runs in the process.

The Angels are hopeful that Teheran can continue to stretch out and return to the rotation, but time is quickly running out in the 2020 season, the Angels aren’t going to be competing for a playoff spot, and the idea of moving Teheran in a deadline deal within the next two weeks seems impossible at this point.

At the time of the signing, it appeared like a good move for LA. Teheran has logged 174+ innings in each of his last seven seasons and has been worth 13.7 fWAR over that span with the Atlanta Braves. A lot of teams across baseball would love to have that kind of production out of their fourth or fifth starter.

Now, the Angels must figure out who to slot in behind Bundy, Griffin Canning, Patrick Sandoval, and Andrew Heaney in the starting rotation. The options are pretty slim and they may have to rely on a bullpen day every five days until the Angels are able to bring someone else in.

The Los Angeles Angels may still be high on Julio Teheran’s ability to turn things around and contribute this season, but with only so many opportunities left to showcase his stuff, it might be best just write off the Teheran signing as a bust and move on to finding another piece who can contribute in 2020 and beyond.