San Diego Padres roll dice on Julio Teheran comeback

Julio Teheran, who has pitched in just one MLB game over the past two seasons, has been signed to a minor league deal by the San Diego Padres.

Looking for pitching depth, San Diego Padres sign Julio Teheran to minor league deal

An 11-year MLB veteran, Teheran started one game for the Detroit Tigers in 2021, an April 3 matchup against Cleveland, scattering four hits and allowing one run over five innings. However, that would be the last action of the season for the right-hander, who was placed on the injured list on April 10 with a shoulder strain and was unable to regain his velocity as he rehabbed. The Tigers shut him down in early September.

Teheran, however, would rebound from the injury in 2022, pitching in independent ball, the Mexican League, and Dominican Winter League, posting a combined 3.57 ERA in 14 starts covering 68.0 innings. That was enough for the San Diego Padres to take a chance on the 31-year-old being able to find his stuff once again at the MLB level.

It’s an incentive-laced deal for the Padres, who are hoping to add to their pitching depth if Teheran can indeed bounce back. San Diego is still looking to piece together its rotation for 2023, signing Nick Martinez to a three-year deal in hopes that he can help add to the mix.

"“We feel really good about the top of the rotation,” general manager A.J. Preller told MLB.com and others earlier this month. “But every year you want to add starting pitching. You want to get depth. … We’re going to try to add to that rotation and give [manager Bob Melvin] as many options as possible from a starting standpoint.”"

Those options could eventually include Teheran, who was a two-time All-Star with the Atlanta Braves during his nine years there.

If Teheran can prove that his brief success in Detroit and comeback from the shoulder injury last season outside of MLB can be stepping stones to success in 2023, the Padres will be glad to have him as an option for the back end of the rotation that (as of this writing) includes Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Blake Snell, and Martinez.

Signing Teheran to a minor league deal is a low-risk, high-reward proposition for the San Diego Padres as they look to build depth on the mound.