Orioles Sign Charlie Morton – MLB Trade Rumors

The Orioles announced that they have signed Charlie Morton for a one-year contract. It is reportedly a $15MM guarantee for the Wasserman client. Baltimore designated catcher Rene Pinto for the task of opening a place for 40 people.

Morton, who turned 41 in November, joins the sixth team of his career in what will be his 18th MLB season. The two-time All-Star has spent the past four seasons with the Braves, combining for a 3.87 ERA over 124 starts. While Morton’s production has dipped a bit over the past few years, he’s avoided the kind of dramatic drop-off you’d expect from a pitcher in his 40s.

The righty took the ball 30 times and worked to a 4.19 average over 165 1/3 innings last year. He made 30 starts and surpassed 160 snaps in all four seasons during his late career in Atlanta. Morton struck out 23.8% of opponents against a slightly elevated 9.3% walk rate. The strikeout rate was his lowest since his 2017 breakout in Houston, but remained a few points above the league average for starting pitchers.

Morton hasn’t lost much speed despite his age. His fastball averaged 94 MPH last year, a tick below where it had been in the previous three seasons. His primary offering, his curveball, landed at the usual 81.5 MPH average. Morton continues to generate elite spin and generally strong results against the breaking lane. Opponents hit .200 against the curveball last season.

Overall, Morton’s 2024 production was a solid fourth starter. However, he ran into some problems in the second half. Morton allowed 4.37 earned runs per inning. Morton bounced back in September after a shaky August, while his strikeout and walk marks remained steady throughout the season.

Atlanta, apparently working with tight budget constraints, never seemed interested in keeping Morton for a fifth season. There is annual speculation that he could retire, but it became clear last month that he planned to return for another year. Athletics David O’Brien has written that Morton wanted to sign with a team that played Spring Training near his home in Bradenton, Florida. Orioles qualify. Their complex is located in Sarasota. Morton won’t be as close to home as he had been at Georgia when the regular season begins, but that’s obviously less of a concern than spring training geography.

Morton is Baltimore’s second veteran rotation addition of the winter. His signing comes three weeks after the O’s 35-year-old Japanese star Tomoyuki Sugano to a one-year, $13MM contract. Both pitchers project as durable back-end starters at this stage of their careers. The Orioles needed to increase their rotation at the back Zach Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez. Sugano and Morton each make sense in isolation, but neither brings anywhere near the edge they lost when Corbin Burns went

The off-season is halfway done. Baltimore has been tied to Jack Flahertythe best unsigned starter. They are an obvious fit for potential trade candidates such as Luis Castillo and Dylan Hold up. There is no guarantee that this will be their last move. During the first few months of the offseason, however, they have stayed away from making the kind of splash that many in the fan base expected under new owner David Rubenstein. In addition to the rotation acquisitions, they signed an outfielder Tyler O’Neill to a three-year deal that guaranteed just under $50 million and brought in Gary Sanchez as backup catcher/designated hitter on an $8.5MM signing.

Eflin, Rodriguez, Morton and Sugano make up the top four in Brandon Hyde’s rotation so far. Dean Kremer projects as the fifth starts. Albert Suarez, Trevor Rogersand younger pitchers Cade Povich and Chayce McDermott stands behind them. They build decent depth, but probably still need a pitching arm to place at the top of the staff.

Pinto, 28, was claimed off waivers from the Rays at the start of the offseason. He is out of options and cannot be sent to Triple-A without clearing waivers. His place on the 40-man roster seemed tenuous after the Sánchez signing. Baltimore will have five days to trade him or put him back on waivers. Pinto hit .231/.263/.404 in 82 major league games with Tampa Bay between 2022-24.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com first reported $15MM salary. Image courtesy of Imagn.