NOV. 9: There are “at least eight to 10 teams” interested in Morton, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. The Rays probably won’t offer him more than $10MM, Feinsand hears.
NOV. 6: Charlie Morton immediately became one of the most talented pitchers available in free agency when the Rays declined his $15MM club option. Unsurprisingly, the 36-year-old (37 next week) is drawing strong interest early on, reports Robert Murray of Fansided.
During his last trip through free agency, Morton prioritized geographic fit when signing with Tampa Bay. That’ll probably be the case again this offseason, with teams located near his Florida home gaining a distinct advantage. To that end, a reunion with the Rays for less than the $15MM option price still seems in play. During the season, Morton alluded to the possibility of retirement as well, but there’ll seemingly be plenty of opportunity for him should he want to continue playing. The MLBTR staff projects Morton for a one-year, $8MM deal this winter with the Mets as a potential landing spot.
Morton didn’t match his Cy Young finalist 2019 performance this past season, pitching to a 4.74 ERA over nine regular season starts. His peripherals were quite strong, though, and Morton still averaged around 94 MPH on his fastball. There’s plenty of reason to believe he’d upgrade basically any rotation around the league.
So you think he’ll sign somewhere close to FL then project a deal with the Mets???!!!
He should return to the Phillies. I wanted him to stay with the Rays, but they declined his club option. The Rays want to bring him back for less money, but the Morton should not give a discount.
He wants to compete.
The Phillies compete…for 3/4 of the season. Then they stink it up.
And it seems the Phils are cutting payroll. I know lots of teams are due to the pandemic, but if the media reports are right then it would appear that they won’t be looking for anything other than a bargain.
Yankees is my guess. 1 yr/10mil.
Stop! I’m dying here. Von, maybe you should have a “ Name the date the season turns” contest. Winner gets to be the Phillies advance scout for the last few weeks of rhe aeaaon
I think Middleton would be up for that if winner gets GM. Would save him throwing darts again.
That is basically true.
A lot goes into the equation. Given his wanting to stay close to home, my guess is he uses others to get Tampa to up their offer and he stays, one year at $11.5m.
Well, in their defense, the Phillies should be able to add a good bit of quality depth bargain hunting this offseason.
That’s the case especially where they need some help, and that’s in the pen. It’s looking like there are going to be quite a few solid relievers that are going to be available for around 3-5mil, or somewhere in that range..
Uncanny the way my Phillies spit out the bit in the stretch. Three years in a row and counting. So happy Klentak is out as GM and McPhail isn’t gonna do much more than collect his paycheck for another year.
No team will give him $15 mil at this point in his career and with budget constraints going on with most every team
Buzz
Why would no team give him $15MM?
He’s been as good as anyone that’s available in this class for years now. This point in his career? He finished third in Cy Young voting not even a year ago.
If teams are willing to go 12-14 AAV on Odorizzi, which is the projection, why wouldn’t Morton be right there with him on a one year deal?
Age.
if I had 15 million to give Charlie Morton I’d give him 15 million
If the Yankees were on the line for $17 with Happ then I’m sure they give Morton $15. However, I think the Yankees may look at left handers. I can, however, see them getting either Morton or Kluber.
Sad, but true.
I could see the Yanks with an incentive laden deal for Kluber,with hard not floating numbers,ie,if Covid reduces the season.
How many times has a guy had an option declined and made more money? I don’t know but it isn’t a whole lot
Phillies seem like a fit. Arrieta’s contract is coming off the books and Morton could take over his slot in the rotation. When Morton became a free agent 2 years ago, he said: “It would be about the situation overall. What’s the group like in the clubhouse? Where would I be? Would I be closer to my wife’s family in Delaware in a spot where she would prefer to be?”
Playing for the Phillies would put him close to Delaware during the season, and close to his Florida home during spring training since the Phillies have training in Clearwater.
Why would he play for a s*** organization
And I wonder where the Phillies would be had they picked up Morton’s $8 million club option instead of letting him walk in favor of giving Jeremy Hellickson a $17,8 million QO? So happy Klentak is out as GM.
I actually think they are one of the classiest organizations in all of baseball. They treat their players and staff extremely well, better than most. Do they have scouting and GM issues? Of course. But seeing as how Charlie has already played for the Pirates and Astros in his career, coming back to the Phillies would most likely serve as quite an upgrade.
Not necessarily less money just maybe work the deal differently.
Preference is Florida and that’s already understood, but he was open to east coast teams prior. Born in NJ, raised in CT, not difficult to see him pitching for either NY team. The Yankees also train in Tampa and have a facility there year round. They’re not a stretch either.
Both are considered east coast. Plus, I always say that $$ trumps all other factors. If the Mets offer him a deal he can’t refuse then he may go there.
I heard a couple weeks ago he’d only think of playing next year for the Rays or possibly the Braves.
Haven’t you heard the Mets have new ownership? The new guy is moving them to Florida.
With all due respect, I thought his prediction by MLBTR was the most headscratching – going to NYM on a 1-year deal.
Agreed that makes no sense
I really think the only team aside from Florida teams he’ll even consider is the Braves
Not saying that cause I’m a Braves fan, because I think even ATL is a long shot for Morton
But if he is willing to consider anywhere outside of Florida it checks all the boxes being a perfect fit for both sides and keeps him as close to home as possible without being at home.
I could also see him just retiring just as easily though.
If he wants to compete, I really only see Tampa and Atlanta as options, if close to home is a priority.
Braves would be a good option. Another possibility is the White Sox. Some of their arms are probably a year or more from figuring it out, so he’d be a nice stop gap.
Well it would be a homecoming for Morton if he came back to Atlanta…same for Wainwright if they went after him instead
The Braves would be a nice fit. They can use an experienced veteran and it’s close enough to his home to work for his family. Maybe $8 to $10 for a year with a club option.
Make that $8 to $10 million.
Agreed, I think he could be had for $8m, a nice fit for the young rotation. Exactly what Hamels was supposed to provide, as well as King Felix.
Soroka
Fried
Anderson
Morton
Wright/Wilson/King Felix/FA
That’s a pretty solid rotation, on a cost basis.
If the Mets are willing to QO ty Stro why wouldn’t Morton get a big one year offer?
Because the Mets are a terribly run franchise and nothing they do serves as a model for what other franchises do.
Felix was released, unless they choose to resign him…Just passing along the info. bud, not trying to be a s.a.
Mark Bowman of MLB.com has reported in the past that Morton’s preference was to return to the Braves during his last free agency, but AA declined thus paving the way for Morton to end up in Tampa Bay. Obviously, none of us have any idea if that’s still true this time around, but there was interest in a reunion on Morton’s part in the past.
Interestingly, AA was also connected to Michael Brantley in FA, being outbid by HOU (2 years/$32M) – though that bid most likely would have surpassed a similar deal from ATL because of no state income tax in TX.
I wonder if he’d circle back around considering that that deal, in hindsight, was a good one – not to mention Morton’s deal (with TB).
Morton, Brantley, and a Bryant trade are the 3 offseason moves that make the most sense for the Braves. One more high leverage reliever would make sense for them, too, but there’s a lot of those that would be nice fits, so none that are as obvious as the moves above.
You’re right, but I could just as easily see them only signing Wainwright, resigning Melancon, and then bringing in Joc Pederson or something along those lines..
Either way, I have the funny feeling we are ALL going to be playing the guessing game for quite some time, as things are going to move at a turtle’s pace this offseason..
Every team will be hurting financially, but every team can weather a 2 year plummet in revenue. Obviously some will have more spending power than others. I think almost all free agent deals will be short term. Braves have been operating that way since AA took over, so should be business as usual. Trade market is going to be really weird, too, considering prospects haven’t been scouted for a year…makes trading for prospects riskier than ever. Going to be an interesting offseason once it kicks into gear.
@bravesfan88, I think overall you’re right on the pace, but I think some teams may be aggressive early on. I know some teams may want to wait it out before committing all that much, but regardless, the market will be down this year, so I expect a lot of players to be willing to take one-year deals and try again next year. This makes slight overpays for 2021 more forgivable. Guys looking for long-term deals will likely have to wait, but guys ok playing for just one year deals, some of them will be picked up by up-and-coming teams or the more aggressive contenders.
Yeah I scratched my head at that prediction too. Even without what Morton said about staying close to home, he just doesn’t strike me as a guy who fits pitching in New York, even though he was born in Jersey. The Big Apple isn’t for everyone.
Phillies better be in on Morton yet an interesting fact the Phillies had the 5th best starting pitching era in the NL so the bullpen is the largest problem but could you imagine a Nola, Wheeler, Morton, Eflin Howard, and then you have VV and Adonis Medina has depth. If your starters last longer in the game the less your bullpen needs to pitch. Everyone gives Astros the credit for “fixing Morton”, but who knows it could have been the Phillies (totally not biased)
I could imagine Wheller but would prefer Wheeler.
I would prefer Wheeler as well it was a sad spelling mistake on me. my bad.
It was Roy Holladay that fixed Morton..He basically, scrapped his mechanics and everything he’d learned and copied everything Roy did..
It changed his career..
That’s not true. Morton started replicating Roy’s mechanics while still in Pittsburgh.
It was Ray Searage and Jim Benedict that encouraged Morton to lower his arm slot like Halladay. His delivery was already similar to Doc’s, but watching Halladay footage because Benedict and Searage recommended the change was how it happened.
post-gazette.com/sports/pirates/2011/05/03/The-reb…
The writer and article itself sensationalized alot of the story, it was simply a change in arm slot suggested, Morton learned new grips, and further mimicked Holladay thays what ultimately led to the results change to get results in a more consistent basis.
What the story doesnt say is even after the arm slot change it wasnt instant success like it suggests. He had to keep and continue on tinkering until he found the right mixture.
Thays what pitching coaches do is recommend changes to failing pitchers, some work and some don’t. It’s all on the pitcher hisself to fully commit, and Morton did altering his pitch grips and studying Holladay to a tee..
This seems more like a Searage puff article than anything else, falsely giving the credit where it really lies, solely from one suggestion by Searage
If Morton wouldn’t have fully committed, it wouldn’t have worked out, and then Searage and Co. would have just suggested making further changes..
Searage was simply doing his job offering advice to a struggling pitcher. It is Morton who took that advice and ran with it committing hisself 110%, and it is Morton that should receive the vast majority of the credit.
Pitching coaches make adjustments like these all the time, just like hitting coaches. However, the difference between the Bautista’s, the Yelich’s, and the Morton’s are whether or not those players fully commit themselves to starting over after they’ve made it so far doing it “their way.”
Bravesfan88
“ The writer and article itself sensationalized alot of the story, it was simply a change in arm slot suggested, Morton learned new grips, and further mimicked Holladay thays what ultimately led to the results change to get results in a more consistent basis.
What the story doesnt say is even after the arm slot change it wasnt instant success like it suggests. He had to keep and continue on tinkering until he found the right mixture.”
In his first eleven starts of 2011, Morton had a 2.52 ERA, 2 CG’s, .24 HR/9, and a 63.7% GB rate in 75 innings.
That’s 20 more innings than the sample size being used to judge him in free agency this year. I think it’s safe to say Searage and Benedict’s recommendation was a massive turning point in his career.
From that moment forward as a Bucco (2011-2015) Morton had a 3.96 ERA coupled with a 3.85 FIP and 3.89 xFIP 624 innings.
VV needs to be in the pen. He could be a lights out 8/9 inning guy
Mets then Rays. The Rays need him, but the Mets need tons of pitching, and they have Savior Stevie to save them.
Wouldn’t be shocked to see him end up in Seattle, however that’s some much more likely options.
Yes, as far away from Florida as possible I think is his goal.
Remember when Gerrit Cole signed with the Angels because it was close to where he grew up?
Except that Cole never said that he wanted to play close to home. Morton has. He has said multiple times that he wants to be near his family. That rules out the Mariners. Also, the Mariners spring training is in Arizona. He’ll want to stay at home for spring training
And I’m sure he wants to play in the city closest to the places in total anarchy…….(Seattle?!)
Really anarchy?
Maybe go look at DC before hating on a town you’ve never been within 1000 miles?
There’s no anarchy in America.
Why would Morton, an aging pitcher trying to win a ws want to go to a rebuilding mariners team? That makes no sense
Mariners are no longer in the rebuilding/tanking phase, and money.
Wouldn’t exactly call them a contender though
Neither would I. But money trumps everything especially after a season where players didn’t receive their full salary.
Not when you’re a pitcher in the last year or so of your career, that wants to stay close to his home, and that wants to compete for a title the last year or two of his career.
It would have to be a substantial overpay by the Mariners, and I dont even think Dipoto is THAT crazy..lol
Just rebuilding
Thats wishful thinking on your part. Hrs looking for a contender not a pretender.
Funny coming from an Angels fan.
If Morton pitched for the Angels last year they would have made the playoffs.
While your Mariners in the basement in 2021 say hi to Blden.
Makes sense from the Jays side but doubtful Morton would be interested.
Morton and Kluber are the type of guys the Yankees love to sign. Higher money on a one-year so you can bridge the gap till other options open (injured players returning, young talent moving up the ladder, future free agents, etc.).
Money talks. If a team wants him bad enough I would guess he’ll go. Perfect opportunity for him to cash in on his recent success. Look what David Price did. He never wanted to be in Boston, but they made him a ridiculous offer.
Those people comparing Cole and Price are completely out of bounds here. They are/were in the primes of their careers trying to get as much of a guarantee dollars wise as humanly possible. That is not where Morton is at mentally, his future is spending time with his family and on a golf course two years from now..Not trying to get a mega deal or the biggest deal possible.
He will gladly take a little less money to get what yes states he wants. That is to stay close to his home, and to play for a contender.
Morton ends up in Nashville – book it
Retired?
Country music singer?
I wish we were that close to getting a team, but I don’t think so.
What’s the name gonna be? Hopefully nothing cheesy, like the Astros or Red Sox!
It will be something having to do with music. Our minor league team is the Nashville Sounds.
I thought Morton said when he first signed with the Rays that this would be his last contract and that he would retire.
He probably said that not expecting to cut, and not expecting to receive a prorated salary.
He also likely thought his option was a no brainer to be picked up. Lotta money he thought he’d have right now didn’t happen, even with a guaranteed contract. 2020 in a nutshell lol
Blue Jays should give him a look. Offer 1 plus mutual option. Pearson could use a mentor.
I see them getting Bauer locked up a long time, and exactly for that reason too.
I see him finishing where he started & going to Atlanta. Good fit on both sides, World Series Contender, spring training in Florida, and close to his Florida home.
Rangers I like your optimism. I do not see Bauer to Toronto.
Remember those 4 starts in n Philly? Weren’t they great?
Lmao, I forgot that even happened.
Would love to see him back with the Braves
Come home to the Braves Charlie
Drawing early interest – what does he think he is, a painter?
I guess painting curveballs, I suppose
Would love to see him with the Cubs!!!
Even my frugal A’s can afford 8MM for a SP like Morton. They could then put A.J. Puk into the bullpen and either he or Diekman can close since Hendriks is probably leaving. If they can give Semien 2 years / 28MM as well then they can keep their competitive window open IMHO
My best guess is back to TB or hopefully the Braves. Get him out of the Yankees division
I could see the blue jays giving him a 2 year deal
Angels could use him especially if they don’t get Bauer – could see something like 2/19m from the Halos
What about Miami? They’re a team on a seemingly upward trend, and adding a veteran starter would make a ton of sense.
Miami would be my bet
Miami makes a lot of sense. With Pablo Lopez, Sandy Alcantara, Sixto Sanchez and Elieser Hernandez, the Marlins have a really young rotation. Rounding it out with Morton, who’s been know to be a positive clubhouse influce, would be a really nice starting 5 and rotation anchor. Plus if they sign him to a one year deal, maybe with a player option, then he doesn’t block long term arms in their farm like Edward Cabrera or Max Meyer.
They already have enough pitching, they dont need even more nor a veteran like Morton..
And yes, this is coming from a Braves fan, because I want him to come back..lol
Don’t see him going anywhere but the Rays. Living in Bradenton, he gets to spend spring training and every home game living in his own house with his kids. He can’t even do that in Miami or Atlanta.
I wouldn’t rule out the Marlins here. He’s only looking for a 1 year deal and the Marlins have entered their window to compete.
More than likely he returns to the Rays but Braves, Mets, Phillies and Nats should all be in play.
Go back to the Astros on a 1 yr deal
Of course he is drawing interest. Charlie is a great pitcher living in a world where there are very few great pitchers. 1 yr / $15MM deal with a $20MM club option seems fair.
Great fit for the Braves.
This may be premature, but I bet he draws late interest too!
Yankees, 1 year/10 million. I think he would’ve retired but he realized just how close he was to another ring, and just how much he has left based on his performance in 2/3 games he pitched.
if the Rays wolnt give Morton more then 10 they wolnt be players for McCann
I think it’s interesting how highly he’s viewed/thought of around by media and fans. Maybe it’s warranted… but saying he’d upgrade “any rotation around the league” is really only true if you go off the basis that his 2020 season was an outlier and he’s going to revert back to his 2019 form. That very well may be the case… but he is also now/will be 37 so if the 4.74 ERA he posted last year is his new normal… then he really wouldn’t be much of an upgrade to most rotations. Having said all of that — I do believe he is better than his 4.74 ERA indicated and that he’ll probably post a sub-4.00 ERA next season thus making him a likely upgrade to most teams rotations. However it’s no longer a given — like it was the last time he was a free agent.
He had the highest BABIP in his career, and if you take out his first start of the year and include playoffs he had a 3.10 ERA in fifty innings, averaging 94.5 on his heater in October, which is where he was last year. Pull up his combined stats 2017-2020. He finished 3rd in AL Cy Young voting a year ago, he’s been an all star twice in the past three years, and he’s pitched in as many meaningful playoff games as anyone.
His stuff only got better as the year went on.
brooksbaseball.net/velo.php?player=450203&b_h…
I think his days of dominance are gone, but he can still be a solid #3 on a contending club.
At his age I could see last year as the start of his decline, even though as oldoak said, he was mostly solid… since his career turnaround a few years ago, he’s been so damn good, so maybe one more strong year isn’t a stretch… I wouldn’t go two years though if I’m a GM… one year deal, worth the shot
I’d go one year with a team option for a second year.
Jays 1 year 18
Apparently he doesn’t want to leave grape fruit fla area and jays have great facilities there, and are most likely playing in Buffalo again (have to assume until we hear otherwise) which may actually appeal to vets on a 1 year deal
I think Morton is one of the few people who could out-earn his declined option this year
There are too many younger starters out there this year to go after Morton. I would sign Walker, Keller, or trade for a guy like Lynn before I would look at Morton.
No State Income Tax in Florida is a factor in Contract negotiations
For 8m, any team that needs him can offer to pay any taxes incurred outside of Florida, or just calculate that into their offer.
Same for Texas
1./$8m with 8-10 teams interested?
Smells like that stellar new perfume… *Collusion.*
Figure in his postseason work and the caliber of competition, and Morton had a good season. He doesn’t seem to want to sign there, but New York desperately needs him in their #4 slot.
He should go back to Houston. They fixed him. He was never any good until the Astros signed him and taught him how to pitch. He owes them. He would have been out of MLB if it wasn’t for the Astros.
As mentioned above, morton had a 3.96 ERA, 3.85 FIP/3.89 xFIP in 624 innings with the Pirates from 2011-2015, then was on his way to some of the best metrics he’d ever produced, with the best stuff he’d ever thrown in 2016 (95.22 MPH avg) with the Phillies 3.09/3.01 FIP/xFIP, and his highest K/9 by far in his career (almost 10 K/9).
And if you’re trying to convince anyone that any team (especially the Astros) would guarantee 2/$14 million plus incentives to a pitcher that has nothing to offer you’re out of your mind.
Charlie stated he would play only for Florida or Houston let’s see if he changes his mind.
If the Rays offer $10MM he takes it. Their Location trumps a few million more even IF anyone would even offer more to a guy his age coming off a Meh season in a pandemic
He needs to decide if he’s pitching, then his agent should request BAFOs by a specific date with an understanding that all offers need to be above a certain amount. He can decide from there. The Rays due to proximity should have an edge if they make a serious offer, but they’ve already ditched him. A low-ball submission compared to others means their offer is likely DOA, which is what I’ll think will happen. He either retires or pitches on some team along the east coast that has a strong chance to win. Braves, Yankees, Mets. I’m giving the latter a chance based on change in ownership.
…and the Astros as a non-East Coast entry, but there’s a lot of baggage there and it’s unknown how good they’ll be. Still a sub-.500 club this season.
Morton winds up with a New York team probably the Mets
I think saying the Astros are are a sub .500 team last year, although correct, one must take into account they lost the following:
Their Cy young award winner
Their Rookie of the year
Their closer
4 of the major cogs on the team to injuries for parts of the season,
and had a bullpen of no one who had ever pitched above A ball before.
Oh BTW, they were only one game away from returning to the world series. So if you want to hang your hat on the sub 500 thing more power to you.
Baggage yes, sub 500 again this year no way.