Braves to Leave Julio Teheran Off NLDS Roster
By Michael Luciano
Julio Teheran has the second-longest tenure of any current member of the Atlanta Braves, but that apparently isn't enough to earn him a spot on the roster for the NL Division Series.
The Braves will go with a six-man bench against the St. Louis Cardinals, and Teheran will be off the roster entirely. Former Cleveland Indians starter Josh Tomlin will notably slide in as a long reliever.
Tomlin will be on the NLDS roster. Teheran will not. The Braves will instead go with a 6-man bench.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) October 2, 2019
The Braves will use a three-man rotation of Dallas Keuchel, Mike Foltynewicz and Mike Soroka, with Max Fried available for a possible Game 4 depending on whether or not he's needed out of the bullpen before then.
Teheran went 10-11 with a 3.81 ERA this season, and notched an ERA+ of 119. Manager Brian Snitker called leaving him off the roster "one of the hardest decisions of my career."
Snitker confirmed the NLDS rotation will be Dallas Keuchel game one, Mike Foltynewicz in game two and Mike Soroka on the road in game three. They would like to use Max Fried in game four if he is available, will be in bullpen first three. #Braves
— Kelsey Wingert (@KelsWingert) October 2, 2019
By nearly every statistical measure, to say nothing of his seniority, Teheran deserves to be on this roster. While the need for a deep bench is certainly valid, the fact that Teheran won't even be a bullpen option could come back to bite Snitker seriously hard.