Charlie Morton has decided to keep pitching at age 41, but it’ll be with the Baltimore Orioles and not the Atlanta Braves, the team for which the popular veteran began his career and had hoped to finish it.
The 17-year veteran agreed to a one-year deal with the Orioles on Friday — worth $15 million, according to a source — after spending the past four productive seasons with the Braves, making at least 30 starts in each despite injuries that slowed him late in a couple of seasons and postseasons.
After making $20 million each of the past three seasons, Morton didn’t have to take as severe of a pay cut as many believed he might, a sign both of the soaring prices for free-agent pitching and Morton’s continued durability when most players his age are several years into retirement.
The Braves had discussions with him early in the offseason about possibly returning, but when those talks stalled for weeks, Morton began to entertain offers from other interested teams.
We have agreed to terms with RHP Charlie Morton on a one-year contract for the 2025 season.
Welcome to Birdland, Charlie! pic.twitter.com/QsqvAt3VLf
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) January 3, 2025
For Atlanta, that’s now two members of their rotation lost to free agency, ace left-hander Max Fried and Morton. They were their most reliable starters over the past several years, though in 2024 Fried missed time for a second consecutive season with a forearm injury and Morton went 8-10 with a 4.19 ERA in 30 starts.
Still, Morton had 167 strikeouts in 165 1/3 innings.
The Braves’ rotation returns National League Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale, Reynaldo López and Spencer Schwellenbach, who was a revelation as a rookie. They also expect Spencer Strider, the MLB strikeout leader in 2022-2023, to return by May after having internal-brace elbow surgery in April, a procedure he opted for instead of a second Tommy John surgery.
Atlanta is expected to add at least one proven starter, but have scoured the free agent and trade markets and so far haven’t found a deal that fits within their budget or doesn’t require them to trade multiple prospects from a minor-league system that ranks in the bottom third of baseball.
Drafted by the Braves in 2002, Morton was slow to develop and struggled as a rookie in 2008, then was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was an extreme late-bloomer, becoming a front-line starter in his mid-30s and excelling for four seasons with the Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Rays before returning to the Braves as a free agent after the 2020 season.
Over the past four seasons with Atlanta, Morton was 45-34 with a 3.87 ERA and 110 ERA+ in 124 starts, and totaled 771 strikeouts with 268 walks in 686 1/3 innings. He was lauded for his leadership in the Braves clubhouse, especially his work with other pitchers, including Strider and Fried.
Morton represents the second free-agent signing by the Orioles this winter. Previously, Baltimore came to terms with accomplished Nippon Professional Baseball pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano on a one-year deal before inking Morton on Friday. Together, they join a rotation that will return Zach Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez, though ultimately saw Corbin Burnes sign with Arizona.
(Photo: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)
