As has been the custom over his last few seasons, veteran right-hander Charlie Morton talked things over with his wife after the 2024 campaign to figure out whether or not he would again try to ramp up for another run. This time, however, Morton might’ve on some level made his decision even before his 2024 season was over. Morton told MLB.com’s Jake Rill and other reporters that in his final start of the regular season with the Braves, “I remember walking off the field and just this like sinking feeling in my stomach — it just didn’t feel right. I’m sure a lot of guys toward the end of their careers, they think about retiring, shutting it down, and you really want to walk off the field the last time and feel good about it. And a lot of guys don’t get that opportunity. I just didn’t feel good about it. I felt like I could have done better. I felt like I still had the tools to be a good pitcher in the big leagues.”
Now set to begin his 18th big league season, the 41-year-old Morton signed a one-year, $15MM deal with the Orioles. It was an ideal fit for Morton both because the O’s are a contender, and for important off-the-field reasons. Morton and his wife Cindy each have family relatively near the Baltimore area, and the Orioles’ Spring Training camp in Sarasota is near the Mortons’ home in Bradenton, Florida.
More from around the AL East…
- Erik Neander said “we’ll look for those opportunities” to further bolster the position-player side, but the Rays’ president of baseball operations told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times believes the team’s offense can improve based on in-house sources alone. “You’re counting on some players internally to take that next step forward or bounce back from where they’ve been, and that was similar to ’22 and obviously ‘23 offensively….There are an assortment of players we have that we think there’s good reason to believe they will be better than where they were last year, and/or just as a unit, that we can be a little bit more better….just kind of using history as a guide,” Neander said. When considering adding veterans to the mix, Topkin notes that along with salary cost, the Rays also weigh whether or not that veteran could take at-bats away from a younger player that might well deliver similar production with the same playing time.
- The Yankees have lost a total of 14 coaches, coordinators, and player-development personnel to other teams since the offseason began, with the New York Daily News’ Gary Phillips running through the full list of departed names throughout the organization. As VP of player development Kevin Reese admits, this is an “unusually high” amount of turnover, though “when other teams are coming after them and getting promotions and bringing guys to the big leagues, that speaks well to the people that we had. We take a lot of pride in having good people and continuing to build it.” The depth of personnel may have contributed to the departures, as “there are only so many spots for people to move up before there’s a logjam,” said Rick Guarno, who is now the Mets’ Triple-A hitting coach after previously working as the hitting coach with the Yankees’ high-A affiliate.
Morton should be a nice backend veteran addition for the Orioles rotation.
The Rays offense should improve by virtue of playing in a spring training stadium next season (though the home/road splits may be ugly. Maybe the Rays should sign Alonso and have their first real slugger since Carlos Pena
Alonso would mash 40 plus bombs if he played half his games at Steinbrenner Field.
He could hit 40 in any park. Steinbrenner Field has the same dimensions as Yankee Stadium which means shorter right field. Alonso doesn’t hit a lot of homers that way.
Rays signed Eloy Jimenez, that’s their big splash for the season. It’s a good one too. No way they’d sign Pete Alonso.
I think the Rays should roll with what they got in place. They don’t have much more to do in terms of the roster.
LMAO! Eloy Jimenez???????? Man, I wish, speaking as a Yankee fan, that you were the GM of the Rays. No kidding they aren’t going to sign Alonso. A bit pricey, yes.
valid, except that one which was one of the biggest home runs in team history
Eloy Jimenez is going to have a big season in Tampa.
If he can avoid injuries, I completely agree.
@bw
Eloy can hit the bat incredibly hard (90 percentile exit velo and hard hit %). But 9th percentile sprint speed doesn’t help him run out all the ground balls he smashes into the ground. he’s shockingly slow.
The O’s helped him get his exit angle up a little bit but there’s more work for Tampa to do to get that basher to translate his power into something that gets out of the infield. he’s intriguing, but a work in progress.
Cecil Fielder was fat, he faired.
I think with Eloy, he is a bit of a baby. I think the cold Chicago springs and the Chicago food made him fat and lazy. I think he’ll get back to himself in the tropical climate, I expect a good season out of him. Rays made a nice acquisition. Certainly worth the investment.
Yankee Stadium is great for lefty hitters who put the ball in the air. Kyle Tucker will kill it there if he signs with them next year. Overall, though, Yankee Stadium plays neutral offensively because it suppresses offense everywhere else.
The problem with this team is not the coaches the problem with this team is the analytics, scouts, player development and international scouting we are the worst team in each of these categories in the MLB according to mlb front offices and scouts around the league. There philosophy is not working! As long as Tim Naehring, Damon Oppenheimer, Kevin Reese and Michael Fishman are there nothing is gonna change.
Is this about the Yankees? The team with the third most wins in baseball over the last 10 years that just went to the World Series?
Speaking as a lonnnng time Yankee fan over the past twenty-five years name me five players who they drafted and developed who even has a 15 WAR career. Even counting the players that they traded, considering their resources, their record is putrid. The one constant in that “vaunted” front office is that “smartest man in the room”, Brian Cashman. He seems to be immune to accountability.
Brett Gardner, Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres, Gary Sanchez, Luis Severino and that’s just off the top of my head.
Gleyber was signed by the Cubs (J2). Shouldn’t go off the top of your head…
David Robertson, Robinson Cano, Francisco Cervelli. How’s that?
Didi Gregorius, 17.9. Brett Gardner, 44.3. Gary Sanchez, 15.0. Alfonso Soriano, 28.6. David Robertson, 21.7. Robinson Cano 68.1 (* better living through chemistry)
I’m not even a Yankee fan.
Severino’s at 13.4, Should be there in the next year or two.
Cervelli retired at 13.9. Close but without cigar.
Your team hasn’t had a losing season in a generation and was just in the World Series. Baseball fans of all teams always focus on what they wish their teams did better, dismissing what they do well. In the Yankees case, that’s winning games. Enjoy it.
look at fWAR.
Tyler Clippard, 15.9
So, you do not value the ability to find hidden gems buried in another teams’ system, acquire them cheaply and develop them? You are well aware that the Yankees rarely draft high, so your extremely selective criteria of DRAFT and DEVELOP and 15 WAR was pretty clearly biased.
lol of those Judge & Sanchez were NYY developed & came up thru minors.
Did you even try reading the Daily News article because your entire comment contradicts the quotes in it?
Daily News shouldn’t be the authority on anything. Not impressed with the organization over the past ten years. Don’t care how many wins they had in ten years. If you are impressed with what that team has done in ten years, maybe you should reevaluate. Do you think George would be impressed with what his Yankees and everyone associated with them has accomplished over the past ten years?
I can’t believe I have to do this twice in one day…
Source: trust me, bro…
But damn, when it fits, it fits.
@RG
Usually, when an organization has so many of its lower and middle managers/ coordinators/ coaches pushed by other organizations, it usually means they higher good ppl.
From a farm player vantage point I can’t remember any team that uses it’s player currency as well as the Yanks do. They put a heavy emphasis on drafting hard throwing pitchers and drafting up the middle players. Ppl focus on the spending but ignore how great Cashman has used the farm by promoting Judge, Dominguez, Cortez, Gil, Volpe, Wells, Scmidt and others while using the farm to acquire Soto, Jazz, etc.
i meant “poached ” not pushed. I meant “hire” not “higher”. my bad.
I’m very happy with Carlos Mendoza. The guy is very serious and does not waste time with a player, particularly a relief pitcher, who is ineffective. On the other hand he didn’t panic when the Mets were far behind in the standing or get too proud when they started winning more. Very level headed guy, so, thanks Yankees.
You actually think that is a great accomplishment? Please refer to my response a few posts above.
Any comments on the responses? Or will you make a strawman argument to deflect?
YBC he’ll make a strawman argument or just move the goalposts saying it’s still not enough.
In a baseball economy where players get traded left and right, you made a conscious decision to exclude talent that is traded. So, your case is flawed.
The Rays will have a down year or two, retool their roster and then go on a five-year run of making the playoffs. It’s what they continually do.
I just hope they don’t end up meeting the Yankees in the playoffs this year because after that atrocious WS my liver cannot tolerate being booted from the postseason at Steinbrenner Field by the Rays. I would be drinking 4 40s of OE 800 instead of 2.
Lol. You may also need to sneak in some Everclear.
YBC,
I swore off hard liquor after the 2004 ALCS. I always wanted to meet Johnny Damon after he joined the Yankees so I could give him an invoice for the drywall I had to replace after his dagger in that game 7. Any negative feelings subsided though after the 2009 WS win.
I think Rays will surprise and Taj Bradley will take a huge step forward in 2025.
Morton is the GOAT of pretending he’s retiring and thought he was out, but they pulled him back in.
He’s been “almost retiring” for about 7 years now and he’s made like $120M during that period vs the $40-ish million he’d earned prior to his nearly decade long farewell tour. Just funny how he always couches it this way, year after year.
I wish that worked for every job/industry. Just pretend you are gonna retire annually and get a nice raise or push up your quote by double or triple based solely on the threat of no longer working.
He’s the Rolling Stones of baseball.
It helps that he’s been really good for most of the last 10 years
Yeah, Mariano Rivera played that card to perfection. He started talking about becoming a minister and starting his own ministry more or less when he was thirty. That must have given George chronic diarrhea.
Exactly this.
BTW I didn’t follow the business side as much back then as I do today, so I was aware when he’d re-sign for 2-3 years for $15M AAV, or $10M AAV, etc. but I didn’t realize he was pulling that “I think I am gonna retire to go do XYZ” stuff.
BTW- I’d like to point out that although he, like so many athletes, has his own charity and is a religious person, etc. I’ve seen updates from Rivera over the years and as far as I can tell, he never became a minister, even in retirement.
He’s been betting on himself essentially every season. So, if Morton was not pitching at MLB levels then he wouldn’t get paid. Players will often make more on single year deals than they would signing longer term contracts. But there is a risk that increases as the player ages that they will no longer be MLB caliber. Baltimore needs a solid pitcher so they have taken the risk that this is not the year that Morton becomes a non-replacement level pitcher.
I think if not for the Orioles he would have retired.
For the Yankees, there’s been Brian Cashman since 1998. and Boone 2017. That’s a disincentive to people who want to move up. These two stay regardless of on-the-field performance
Or they stay because of on-the-field performance. Not including covid year – Boone has had one season under 90 wins and has only not made it to postseason once (all winning seasons). Going back to 1998 there has not been one losing season. That seems like pretty good on-the-field performance.
Since 1998?…it’s been really since ’92 o believe
Not to mention the little fact that Cashman has played a big role in turning the steinbrenner’s millions into billions.
Cashman and Boone who have .589 and .584 records respectively? That Cashman and Boone?
Boone’s taken us to the playoffs 6 of 7 years. Cashman is 21/25. I mean, folks, perspective, please.
I actually applaud the Yankees for understanding these accomplishments in the modern era when winning the World Series is much harder than it used to be and keeping to their hires. I don’t agree with both of them at times, but they’re not bad at their jobs in the least.
Should you be fired for doing your job well?
Does he do his job well or do the Yankees win Despite him? Would another manager do better? I say yes
I mean just have no manager job then if that’s the case you’re making.
@Scott
And how would you prove that without firing Boone and then hoping the next guy is as good? At the end of the day, Boone didn’t make errors on routine plays by guys usually considered to be good fielders (Judge, Volpe, Jazz), more did he forget to cover 1st base (Cole) nor did he go into a hitting slump (basically Judge and anyone else not named Soto or Stanton). Calling in Cortez might be the only mistake he made, but who’s to say someone else would’ve found their own unique way of messing up? if Cortez did his job, then Boone probably wouldn’t have gotten the credit for that either.
For the better part of their careers, I think both Cashman and Boone have done good jobs. At some point, it is on the players to perform.
When you spend the most money and repeatedly award players who cheat with huge contracts, you should win a lot of games. But when you prioritize winning a lot of games at the expense of burning out your bullpen arms, you fail in the playoffs. When you reward offensive production ahead of the ability to catch and throw the ball, you fail in the playoffs. When you acquire players from other teams who are either not going to be able to afford them or are already overpaying them, they tend to stink up the joint. Players are more concerned about inventing new ways to celebrate success during the season than the little things that win games against the better teams. Thank goodness Soto and Error in Judgement perfected their home run celebrations instead of worrying about how to concentrate in the field so that you don’t drop a can of corn in a World Series elimination game. Holy cow.
Soooo…what’s your team done, hayze? Because the Yanks really get under your skin. I mean I can understand it, a pertually winning team seems to do that to a lot of nonfans…sorry? Nah, not sorry.
You want me to add up all the Yankees payrolls from 2001 through 2024? For their one championship? Yeah, that’s impressive. Heck, even the Dodgers have two.
@why
Sometimes things happen in a 7 game series, but to say Cashman values offense over defense when the 3 culprits you allude to are Judge, Volpre and Jazz, who are all considered plus defenders is silly. Also, you say the bullpen was burnt out and this one of the trains they lost in the WS is false too. Simply go to fangraphs and look at the bullpen numbers. In 22 IP the bullpen had a 2.86 ERA. Cortez not included (because he was not in the own and well tested coming off an injury), only 2. guys allowed runs, Jake Cousins and Khanle each allowed 3 runs. The main guys, Holmes, Weaver, Hill, Leiter, etc were all lights out and allowed no runs. So the bullpen wasn’t the issue. Stop hating and worry about your own team bro. it’s clear your not too familiar with the Yanks.
Nope, because I understand what competitive balance means. Yankees have been to the playoffs more than the Dodgers in that time anyway. I’ve enjoyed my team straight through. I want you to tell me what’s your team done in that time, because I have no hate for other teams in my heart, so I kinda want to know why you do.
Why don’t you also add up how profitable Yankees were over that time period you have to spend money to make money . This is a business something that most fans including myself tend to forget
A great point that often gets neglected. Signing and trading for all these players gets butts in the sets and keeps us on the edge of those same seats. Like I said I’ve always been entertained as a Yankees fan, through good and bad because the organization has always treated it as an entertainment business. They understand how to make money. I have no problem with that.
Haven’t heard Spencer Turnbull connected to any teams this winter which surprises me. Solid rotation addition for any team that has a need. Would like to see CLE sign him.
Rays should sign Alonso to play in that minor league Park this year
Hed hit 50+ HRs and bolster his stock for next year
Field is the same dimensions as Yankee stadium, not much different than Citi in right/right center (where he mainly pulls the ball not sure it would drastically improve his HR count
Warm, humid air in Tampa also deadens flyballs.
Specifically, it’s the humidity that kills ball flight. Warmth is good for dingers!
Wrong, humidity helps ball flight. Dry air is denser than humid air, causing more drag on a flying object like a baseball, resulting in a shorter flight distance. But, yes, warm air is better than cold for ball flight.
Nope, dry air kills ball flight. This is basic science that has been around for decades. Humidity aids ball flight.
You and RA are correct! Need to my polish up on my Isaac Newton.
Weird, bc humid air is less dense which allows a baseball to travel farther
Get ride of 3rd base coach Rojas
Available
15 mil had nothing to do with it, I’m sure
Exactly my point.
I think if he was gonna only get below like $10M at this point he probably would retire for real.
@Trill
Why does Morton’s M.O. bother you so much? He has an extraordinary, in-demand talent. If you did too at your job when you’re in your early 60s, maybe the company you work for will extend your employment contract to entice you to keep working. It’s a really weird hill of yours to die on.
I think for 15 million I could go to work for about 9 months too.
@YankesBleacherCreature:
My issue with him isn’t his M.O. I actually have no issue with him.
He is a talented pitcher who deserves his salaries and has every right to consider retirement as often as he wants to.
I also get that most people, including those drafted into professional sports, think they’ll only ever dream of making millions, if not tens of millions of dollars in the course of their career, let alone by the time they are 34 years old, when he first announced his intention to call it a career and retire. He’d already earned over $45M in total salaries, he’d likely already received over $20M or so in cold hard cash after taxes and agent fees- an amount most people only ever dream of maybe earning in an entire lifetime with the bulk of it earned in their 50’s and 60’s, let alone all of it by the time they’re 34.
I also understand him continuously saying yes to the substantially larger offers that allowed him to double his career salary total in 3 years and then triple it in 6 years.
Plenty of people will retire from modestly paid careers and then get pulled back into working as a consultant for exorbitant daily or weekly or monthly fees that match or exceed by multiples their peak annual salaries when they were officially working. In some respects, these are Morton’s “consultant years”.
I just think it is a genuinely kinda funny negotiating tactic/annual claim of his that he was leaning toward retirement and the pure drive of competitiveness and his wife encouraging him to continue pursuing his passion was the main thrust behind these deals- and not that he started making double and nearly triple his previous peak annual salaries, that it was incidental or a non-factor that he was making exponentially more money- and that it’s about being competitive.
Now, do I also think if he had been offered only $8M or less to continue pitching 7 years ago, he may have retired? Do I think there was some part of him that thought nobody would come knocking and be willing to pay him a premium on his previous AAV? Yes. Of course. At some point you do make enough money and have enough banked or have enough making you money passively through a stock portfolio and other investments, etc. that an otherwise generous or lucrative salary no longer tempts you to put in the work load required to earn the money.
I know people who retired from the executive level of the corporate world who wouldn’t come out of retirement for less than a million a year, or only accepted consulting gigs because they could make in a day or a week or a month what it used to take them a month or a quarter or a full year or more than a year to earn.
And that’s kinda what happened to Morton. He thought he was retiring as a middle to back of the rotation pitcher who’s salary peaked at $8.875M and had made $45M in his career, likely thought he might make another $10-$20M total over a few seasons if he kept playing and that extra relatively little bit didn’t make a difference in his financial plan, so why make the effort of a full pre-season and seasonal grind?
I just find his approach/attitude a bit unique and a bit lacking in sincerity as to the ‘why’ and the reality is most guys don’t feel the need to make these kinds of statements about or explanations for continuing to play. Or, guys in his position salary-level-wise really have already made like $100M or $200M or $300M+ and don’t need the money and even an extra $15M-$20M makes minimal difference to their lifestyle or outlook at that point- whereas for a guy who’s only made $45M in his entire career, an extra $15M or an extra $120M or more would be almost foolish to turn down.
He has literally tripled his previous career lifetime earnings- who wouldn’t do that?
Again- nothing against him at all. I just find his annual need to make a statement clarifying his decision was about competitiveness and family and not money is silly.
He’s a mid-level pitcher who will rank pretty middle of the road in the all time lists when all is said and done and every year he treats coming back like he’s LeBron making “The Decision” or like he’s Jordan coming out of retirement to prove he has something left in the tank- when in Jordan’s case it truly was not about money at that point, thanks to his Air Jordan/other endorsements income.