Braves Decline Julio Teheran's Option and Issue Qualifying Offer to Josh Donaldson

After bringing back Tyler Flowers and Nick Markakis, the Atlanta Braves have decided to decline the options for right-handed pitcher Julio Teheran and outfielder Billy Hamilton.

Mark Bowman of MLB.com also reports that they are extending a qualifying offer to third baseman Josh Donaldson.

There was a lot of talk as to whether the Braves would pick up Teheran's affordable $12 million option, especially since he's been with the club since 2011 and was very durable each and every year. However, for the second consecutive year he failed to make the initial postseason roster, and the only reason he ended up on it in 2019 was because of an injury.

Teheran made 33 starts for the Braves this year, posting a 3.81 ERA to go along with 162 strikeouts over 174.2 innings. The team obviously feels they can find a cheaper back-of-the-rotation starter, and they're probably right.

It's no surprise that the Braves would offer Donaldson the $17.8 million qualifying offer. There's a good chance they make a strong push to sign him to a multi-year deal, but if he does end up somewhere else the team will at the very least get a draft pick.