5 Struggling Starting Pitchers That Could Benefit From Moving to the Bullpen

Julio Teheran, Atlanta Braves

The career that was expected from Teheran when he was the Braves’ prized prospect never came to be. Despite staying relatively healthy, his career has fallen off a cliff and now headed into his age 28 season he is projected to have a 4.82 ERA by Steamer. His past 2 seasons have been difficult even with BABIP help. With all the young pitchers in Atlanta’s system coming up, it seems unlikely that he holds a rotation spot very long.

If Teheran is knocked to the bullpen, however, he could revive his career in a different fashion. His pitching profile doesn’t scream “Reliever” right away, although. He had a very fast fastball as a rookie but since then he has sat in the low 90s, and even though his fastball and slider are his best 2 pitches statistically, he still profiles as a 4-pitch pitcher who can use all 4 pitches effectively.

Despite his profile matching that of a starting pitcher, evidence from his days as a starter points towards his fit being in a 1-inning role. He dominates same-handed hitters with a 20% K-BB%, compared to a lowly 6.5% for left-handed batters. In 2018 he held batters to a .298 wOBA the first time through the order, striking out nearly a quarter of all batters. If the situation in Atlanta ever calls for him to be knocked out of the rotation, putting Teheran in the bullpen may be a worthwhile experiment.

Aaron Sanchez, Toronto Blue Jays

Sanchez will likely have a spot in the 2019 Toronto rotation considering the state it is in right now. There have even been rumors that the Blue Jays will not trade him, so they must believe they can keep him as a starter. If that doesn’t work out though, he could become a reliever.

He matches most of the checkboxes mentioned earlier for someone who could benefit the most from a move to the bullpen. Sanchez has struggled with injuries in the past couple of years, he throws harder than most starting pitchers already, he has pretty substantial platoon split differences, has had trouble keeping walks in check, and has had success the first time through the order with a .286 wOBA allowed for his career and a over a full run difference from the 1st time through the order to the 2nd. The only thing he doesn’t match is the repertoire expectation, as he doesn’t throw a slider at all and has seen success with 4 pitches. Either way, he could still see the benefits of being put into the bullpen.

Sanchez was actually a reliever to start his career, and although he wasn’t as developed of a pitcher yet, he still had a great 1.67 ERA as a reliever. His peripherals did not match quite as well but he had a 3.15 xFIP. Even if he can only perform as well as he did in his rookie season, that could be enough to prove himself valuable.