Teheran Joins Mets: Veteran Arm Bolsters Injury-Hit Rotation Amidst Busy Schedule.
The New York Mets signed a seasoned free agent to provide support since they were without two starting pitchers due to injuries.
A league source revealed on Wednesday that the Mets had signed to a major-league agreement with veteran Julio Teheran. According to league insiders, the arrangement, which is valued at $2.5 million, was first revealed by the New York Post.
According to several individuals briefed on the matter, Teheran, 33, is prepared to pitch whenever the Mets decide to add him to their rotation. That may come sooner rather than later if the Mets require a fifth starter in Atlanta during a four-game series.
The Mets required further support. Since Kodai Senga only recently returned to the mound last week, New York began the season without their starting pitcher. Subsequently, Senga’s replacement, Tylor Megill, had a right shoulder issue on Monday and was placed on the 15-day disabled list. Two depth starters on the 40-man roster, David Peterson (hip) and Max Kranick (hamstring), are still listed as injured.
The Mets will play 15 games in 14 days, beginning on Thursday with a doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers. Officials from the club had already noted that adding a sixth starting during this stretch was likely.
It made sense for the Mets to add Teheran because of the pickle they were in after Megill’s injury. They called up reliever Reed Garrett to replace Megill, needing bullpen coverage, especially after Yohan Ramírez’s suspension. Unless there’s another injury, a pitcher on the 40-man cannot come up to the majors until April 12 (the rule is different for position players). With a doubleheader, however, teams are permitted to call up such a pitcher as an extra player on their roster, so someone like José Buttó would be a candidate to start one of the games (the Mets have announced only one of the starters, Adrian Houser, who will pitch the first game on Thursday).
The Mets eyed Teheran in spring training, too, but he instead signed with the Baltimore Orioles. Teheran opted out of his deal with the Orioles on March 23. In 13 1/3 innings in spring training, he logged a 3.38 ERA.
Since pitching for the Milwaukee Brewers the previous season, Teheran has had a close relationship with the front office of the Mets. Eduardo Brizuela, vice president of the Mets and special assistant to David Stearns, president of baseball operations, was a member of Milwaukee’s inner circle of decision-makers at the time. Teheran was an illustration of what the Brewers, under the direction of Stearns, Brizuela, and Matt Arnold, the current general manager in Milwaukee, did really well: locate valuable depth players on the edges. Success in that field needs cooperation with several front office departments, careful planning, diligent reconnaissance, strong interpersonal connections, and a little bit of luck.
With Milwaukee, Teheran posted a 4.40 ERA in 71 2/3 innings (14 games, 11 starts). However, he faded in the second half. Before the All-Star break, he had a 3.64 ERA (47 innings) compared to a 5.84 ERA (24 2/3 innings) after it.
In 2022, Teheran refrained from pitching in the major leagues. Nine of his twelve years were spent in Atlanta, where he was a two-time All-Star and a rival of the Mets. He has a 3.24 ERA in 175 innings pitched against the Mets in his career. And that number includes the June 27, 2017 game in which the Mets hammered him for seven runs in five and a third innings.
These days, they hope he at least somewhat assists them.
