In the 2024-25 offseason, starting pitchers have enjoyed a hot market almost since the winter, and almost every starting pitcher signed a contract this winter that exceeded expectations. This has led to a battle for starting pitching throughout the winter, and as the 2025 calendar year begins, only four starting pitchers who MLBTR expects to receive multi-year deals this winter remain on the market: Jack Flaherty, Nick Pivetta, Jose Quintanaand Andrew Heaney. With many clubs still looking to add starting pitching help this winter, that means several teams will have to turn to one-year contracts to add to their rotations.
The roster of players that can be found in this corner of the market ranges from solid but unremarkable veterans such as Kyle Gibson and Martin Perez and players looking to bounce back from a down or injured season, e.g. Michael Lorenson and Spencer Turnbull. One particularly unique group of pitchers on one-year contracts is a handful of aging veterans who have long been among the best starters in baseball but are currently either unable to secure a multi-year commitment or have no interest in making one. . former cy young award winner Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzerand Justin Verlander All fall into this category, but the best of the group in 2024 is actually a 41-year-old right-hander Charlie Morton.
Unlike the three mentioned above, Morton is not a future Hall of Famer. He didn’t make his major league debut until age 24, and it wasn’t until his age-33 season with the Astros in 2017 that he fully broke through as a front-end starter. One of the best pitchers in the sport. He has developed into one of the most durable starters in the game, playing more than 1,200 innings over the past eight seasons and ranking eighth in the majors. Among starters with at least 1,000 innings during that span, Morton’s 3.64 ERA and nearly matching 3.63 FIP rank ninth, while his astonishing 27.4% strikeout rate ranks sixth, just behind Scherzer, Wilander, Gerrit Cole, Yu Darvishand Blake Snell.
This consistent, reliable performance would make Morton an attractive free agent for many clubs in recent years, but his last foray into free agency came in the 2020-21 offseason, when he limited his market to Atlanta and Atlanta. Tampa Bay struggles to stay close to family. Since then, he has signed consecutive short-term contract extensions with the Warriors in order to stay in Atlanta. In four years as a member of the Braves organization, Morton pitched to a 3.87 ERA (110+ ERA) and 3.92 FIP in 686 1/3 innings, positioning himself as a durable center fielder. Rotate your arms.
There are some discrepancies in Morton’s job in Atlanta, as he had top-rotation production in 2021 and ’23 but was near league average in 2022 and ’24. Even in those down years, though, Morton’s durability makes him a quality rotation option, much like Gibson. With the floor of a strong back-rotation veteran and the ceiling of a playoff-caliber starter, Morton stands out among the remaining starters like the best of both worlds; he’s been like Gibson for years Or as tough as a veteran like Gibson Patrick Corbinbut recent successes could easily clear out those more reliable weapons.
While Morton’s best years also pale in comparison to the primes of the three aforementioned aging aces, Morton’s numbers after the past two years are actually very similar to Scherzer’s: Scherzer’s ERA Morton has a 3.81 ERA (109 ERA+) and a 4.29 FIP since the start of the 2023 season, while Morton has a 3.92 ERA (108 ERA+) and a 4.17 FIP over the same span. Scherzer’s 26.8% strikeout rate and 7.4% walk rate is better than Morton’s 24.7% strikeout rate and 10.4% walk rate, but Morton benefits from a higher ground ball rate, and of course Morton has pitched almost as much over the past two years. Twice as much as Scherzer.
While betting on a pitcher who has already celebrated his 41st birthday always comes with risk, Morton’s impressive durability and consistent record of success make him the most attractive proposition and prospect on the free agent market right now. One of the stability combinations. With that said, the veteran doesn’t appear to have fully decided whether to return to the mound in 2025. But Morton’s plans still appear to be up in the air, as he could end up somewhere other than Atlanta next season.
Morton reportedly would prefer to play for a team that holds spring training in Florida so he can stay close to home for more of the season. In addition to the Braves and Rays, the Orioles, Red Sox, Tigers, Astros, Blue Jays, Marlins, Twins, Mets, Yankees, Phillies, Pirates , Cardinals and Nationals all compete in the Grapefruit League in the spring. Most of these teams either face severe salary constraints or are unlikely to add rotation help this winter, but if he ends up leaving Atlanta, the Orioles, Astros, Tigers and Mets could all be the A potential destination for the right-hander.
