Angels’ Julio Teheran hopes to report to team soon

The Los Angeles Angels got some good news on Wednesday when pitcher Julio Teheran broke his silence about his absence from the team.

Just when we thought things were snowballing with regards to the health of the Los Angeles Angels’ pitching staff, the team was rewarded with some good news. Julio Teheran hopes to return to the team soon.

Teheran was the prized pitching addition to the team this past winter, inking a one-year $9 million deal with the Halos. But while he was in camp with the team during the first edition of Spring Training, he has been unable to join the team when Summer Camp commenced on July 1st.

Up until now, the Angels have been forced to be silent on what was holding up Teheran’s arrival. As team’s are unable to comment on any medical issues that may be COVID-19 related without the player’s consent, that has led to speculation that Teheran has indeed been dealing with something related to the global pandemic. That has indeed been the case, but the good news is that it doesn’t appear to be serious.

In speaking with Enrique Rojas of ESPN, Teheran acknowledged that he is indeed still in Atlanta after his family started exhibiting symptoms consistent with Coronavirus. At an abundance of caution, he opted to remain home and undergo testing to confirm whether they were dealing with the virus.

“I was not feeling well, I had pain in my body, in my back, and we preferred not to take the risk, said Teheran. “We are waiting for the results for today or tomorrow and, if negative, travel to Los Angeles on the weekend.”

That’s good news for the Angels, who were counting on Teheran to become a stabilizer in the pitching staff. After dealing with a plethora of injuries over the past several seasons, the presence of Teheran and his seven consecutive seasons of 30-plus starts were a welcome sign.

Of course, any delay, even a matter of a week, could delay his ability to be ready for the season when it kicks off on July 24th. However, that doesn’t appear to be a point of concern for the right-hander.

“My arm is fine, if Covid’s results come back negative, I will be with the team soon.”

At this writing, Andrew Heaney is expected to start the season opener in Oakland, with Dylan Bundy, Griffin Canning, and Shohei Ohtani to follow. Teheran is expected to join that group along with an unnamed sixth starter.

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For now, the team – and fans – are happy to hear that Teheran appears to be healthy and expects to join the team in short order. We here at Halo Hangout wish he and his family the best of luck in regards to their forthcoming test results and look forward to seeing him rejoin the team.