Orioles announce signing Charlie Morton A one-year agreement was reached. This is reportedly $15MM guaranteed for Wasserman customers. baltimore designated catcher Rene Pinto Assigned to open a 40-man roster spot.
Morton, who turned 41 in November, joins his sixth career team and his 18th season in Major League Baseball (MLB). The two-time All-Star spent the past four seasons with the Braves, posting a combined 3.87 ERA in 124 starts. While Morton’s field goal percentage has declined slightly over the past few years, he’s avoided the kind of steep decline that can occur with pitchers in their 40s.
Last year, the right-hander caught 30 catches and posted a 4.19 ERA in 165 1/3 innings. Later in his career with Atlanta, he started 30 games in all four seasons and had over 160 carries. Morton’s strikeout rate was 23.8% and his walk rate was 9.3%. The strikeout rate was his lowest since his breakout in Houston in 2017, but it was still a few runs above the league average for a starting pitcher.
Despite Morton’s age, he hasn’t lost much speed. His fastball averaged 94 mph last year, which was slightly lower than the previous three seasons. His main product is his curveball, which averages 81.5 mph. Morton continues to produce elite spin and overall strong results on breaking pitches. Last season, opponents hit .200 against the curveball.
Overall, Morton’s performance in 2024 is that of a solid fourth starter. However, he ran into some trouble in the second half. Morton allowed 4.37 runs per nine while giving up a lofty .279/.357/.469 batting line after the All-Star break. Morton bounced back in September after a inconsistent August, and his strikeout and walk numbers have remained consistent throughout the season.
Atlanta seemed to be under severe budget constraints and never seemed interested in continuing Morton for a fifth season. Every year there’s speculation that he might retire, but last month it became clear he planned to come back for another year. David O’Brien of The Athletic writes that Morton hopes to sign with a team that plays spring training near his home in Bradenton, Florida. The Orioles advance. Their complex is located in Sarasota. Morton won’t be as close to home once the regular season begins as he was in Georgia, but that’s obviously less of a concern than the geography of spring training.
Morton is the second veteran addition to Baltimore’s winter rotation. His signing comes three weeks after the 35-year-old Japanese star was slapped with an O Tomoyuki Sugano One-year contract for $13. Both pitchers are considered durable backfield starters at this point in their careers. The Orioles need to add to their rotation Zach Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez. Sugano and Morton both make sense individually, but neither brings what they bring to the table corbyn burns Gone.
The offseason is already halfway over. Baltimore has Jack Flahertybest unsigned starter. They are clearly suitable for potential trade candidates, e.g. Luis Castillo and Dylan Seth. There’s no guarantee this will be their final step. However, in the first few months of the offseason, they didn’t make the splash that fans had hoped for under new owner David Rubenstein. In addition to their rotation acquisitions, they also signed an outfielder Tyler O’Neal A three-year deal guarantees just under $50MM and brings Gary Sanchez Signed for $8.5MM as a backup catcher/designated hitter.
Eflin, Rodriguez, Morton and Sukarno are currently the top four in Brandon Hyde’s rotation. Dean Kramer As the fifth startup project. Albert Suarez, Trevor Rogersand young pitchers Cade Povich and Chase McDermott behind them. They are building decent depth, but arguably still need an impact arm to position the top of the staff.
Pinto, 28, was waived by the Rays at the start of the offseason. He has no choice and cannot be sent to Triple-A without claiming waivers. After Sanchez was drafted, his spot on the 40-man roster seemed tenuous. Baltimore will have five days to trade him or place him back on the waiver wire. Pinto hit .231/.263/.404 in 82 major league games with Tampa Bay from 2022-24.
Mark Feinsand of MLB.com first reported the $15 salary. Image courtesy of Image.
