With the Braves undoubtedly being deadline sellers come this summer, many have already begun to speculate what players could be on their way out of Atlanta come this trading deadline. While it is likely Braves will take calls on some of their veteran players like Nick Markakis, AJ Pierzynski, or Gordon Beckham, they should stand pat on arguably their most valuable trade chip, Julio Teheran.

With Shelby Miller’s departure in the offseason, Teheran is the Braves undisputed ace, and has been since he established himself in the major leagues. This year marked his third straight start at only 25 years of age, which is no small feat. According to Baseball Reference, Teheran has thrown 607.1 IP over the past three seasons, a number that puts him ahead of ace pitchers Chris Sale, Jake Arrieta, and Zack Greinke. His innings output since he broke in has only been surpassed by the likes of baseball’s elite such as Clayton Kershaw, Madison Bumgarner, and Felix Hernandez.

Durability is something that is coveted by front offices (it is part of the reason Mark Buehrle has been so highly valued throughout his career.) and Teheran has displayed the ability to eat innings consistently, and perform very well through those innings. His career earned run average sits at a 3.38 mark, and that is even after his down year last year. On top of that, he has shown relatively average walk and strikeout rates at 2.5 BB/9 and 7.7 K/9, respectively. Those rates are very similar to the rates that pitchers like James Shields and Adam Wainwright have posted throughout their careers. Teheran is supported by the statistics he has put up in his short time in the Majors, and with the strong season he is having so far, (2.73 era as of May 18th.) he is proving that last year was more of a down season as opposed to a regression.

After all of that, you may wonder: ff he really is this good, why not deal him for maximum returns? While it is true that he would garner some value in a trade, the Braves would likely receive prospects that, like many others they have traded for, would take some years to make an impact at the major league level. In dealing Teheran, the Braves would essentially be acquiring a prospect that they hope turns into what they already have, which is no guarantee. Therefore, a Teheran trade would only further delay the rebuild the team is undergoing. Teheran is signed through 2019, when he will be 28 years old, on an extremely team friendly contract. If the Braves were to deal him this season, they could potentially miss out on his prime right as they are coming back into contention.

The Braves are lucky to have a such a young, solid pitcher in Teheran, and trading him now would be counter-intuitive to the Braves rebuild process.

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