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.
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?
Did you even try reading the Daily News article because your entire comment contradicts the quotes in it?
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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!
Get ride of 3rd base coach Rojas
Available
15 mil had nothing to do with it, I’m sure
@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.