The Orioles announced they’ve signed Charlie Morton to a one-year deal. It’s reportedly a $15MM guarantee for the Wasserman client. Baltimore designated catcher René Pinto for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot.
Morton, who turned 41 in November, joins the sixth team of his career in what’ll be his 18th MLB season. The two-time All-Star has spent the past four seasons with the Braves, where he combined for a 3.87 ERA over 124 starts. While Morton’s production has dipped slightly over the past couple years, he has avoided the kind of dramatic drop-off one might expect from a pitcher in his 40s.
The righty took the ball 30 times and worked to a 4.19 earned run average across 165 1/3 innings last year. He reached 30 starts and surpassed 160 frames in all four seasons during his late-career run in Atlanta. Morton struck out 23.8% of opposing hitters against a slightly elevated 9.3% walk rate. The strikeout rate was his lowest since his 2017 breakout in Houston but remained a couple points above the league average for starting pitchers.
Morton hasn’t lost much velocity despite his age. His fastball averaged 94 MPH last year, a tick below where it had been for the prior three seasons. His primary offering, his curveball, landed at its customary 81.5 MPH on average. Morton continues to generate elite spin and generally strong results against the breaking pitch. Opponents hit .200 against the curveball last season.
In aggregate, Morton’s 2024 production was that of a solid fourth starter. He ran into some trouble in the second half, though. Morton allowed 4.37 earned runs per nine while giving up a lofty .279/.357/.469 batting line after the All-Star Break. Morton rebounded in September following a shaky August, while his strikeout and walk marks held steady throughout the season.
Atlanta, seemingly working with strict budget limits, never appeared interested in keeping Morton for a fifth season. There’s annual speculation that he could retire, but it became clear last month that he planned to return for another year. The Athletic’s David O’Brien has written that Morton wanted to sign with a team that played Spring Training near his Bradenton, Florida home. The Orioles qualify. Their complex is in Sarasota. Morton won’t be as close to home as he’d been in Georgia once the regular season begins, but that’s evidently less of a concern than the Spring Training geography.
Morton is Baltimore’s second veteran rotation addition of the winter. His signing comes three weeks after the O’s inked 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 add to their rotation behind Zach Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez. Sugano and Morton each make sense in isolation, but neither brings anywhere near the upside they lost when Corbin Burnes walked.
The offseason is halfway complete. Baltimore has been tied to Jack Flaherty, the best unsigned starter. They’re an obvious fit for potential trade candidates like Luis Castillo and Dylan Cease. There’s no guarantee this is their final move. Through the offseason’s first couple months, however, they’ve shied away from making the kind of splash that many in the fanbase anticipated under new owner David Rubenstein. In addition to the rotation acquisitions, they signed outfielder Tyler O’Neill to a three-year deal that guaranteed just under $50MM and brought in Gary Sánchez as a backup catcher/designated hitter on an $8.5MM signing.
Eflin, Rodriguez, Morton and Sugano form the top four in Brandon Hyde’s rotation for now. Dean Kremer projects as the fifth starter. Albert Suárez, Trevor Rogers, and younger pitchers Cade Povich and Chayce McDermott are behind them. They’re building decent depth but arguably still need an impact arm to slot at the top of the staff.
Pinto, 28, was claimed off waivers from the Rays at the start of the offseason. He’s out of options and can’t be sent to Triple-A without clearing waivers. His spot on the 40-man roster seemed tenuous after the Sánchez pickup. Baltimore will have five days to trade him or put him back on the waiver wire. Pinto hit .231/.263/.404 in 82 major league games with Tampa Bay between 2022-24.
Mark Feinsand of MLB.com first reported the $15MM salary. Image courtesy of Imagn.
Oh my god, what on earth are they doing
He seems pretty washed to me. Maybe he has another year left in him but idk.
Everyone said Mike Elias was such a great gm he lowkey is on the hot seat after this disgrace of an offseason. 28 mil between Sugano and Morton while Burnes signed for about the same is wild, Orioles “not spending” and then give 15 mil to a 40 year old. Who’s next Scherzer for 30???
I was hoping the Braves would have re-signed him, but they wouldn’t have been willing to go to $15M.
They wouldn’t have to. It’s closer to his family and he was comfortable there. They had absolutely zero interest in him to force him to sign with Baltimore. Atlanta probably could have got him for 10m.
13m
I believe they could’ve had him for less as well…Goes to show Braves aren’t going to do anything meaningful and are doing a ‘reset’. Them making the playoffs with ‘castoffs’ as everyone likes to say was the worst thing they could’ve done. AA and management i would assume is believing they can do it again…3rd place finish / wildcard hope season is in full swing smh
Morton was talking retirement last decade. Signed with Tampa because had family in Florida. Signed with Atlanta because close to Florida. Signed with them again. Unless something drastic happened he liked it there. No reason to leave unless the Braves no longer wanted him at anywhere close to his value. No reason to leave your comfort zone for a few million more. Only a mercenary like Freddie Freeman does that.
Exactly….I’m a huge Freddie Freeman fan but he could spare me those crocodile tears leaving Atl blaming his agent. Freeman wanted to go to LA and AA didn’t wanna resign him for anything of real value. They both were fake in that situation just for show.
I think he was crying because he lost a lot of $. Braves were his only market. LA came in with their deferred $. They are smart and can’t pass up a bargain. I loved it though. I wish I could have licked those sweet tears off his face. Rooting for Pete to cry now.
Gotta see what Nashville Jeff Bridges thinks though. I’m a jack of all trades. As a Pirate there’s only 1 team for me matey. Nash always seems to have the Braves pulse.
As a fan of smart teams I would consider myself a Braves fan. They been really good for a long time. I would guess they really wanted Freddie back but they couldn’t afford to play around with him any longer. They had to get a 1b. Maybe some ego involved as well. AA probably enjoyed seeing him cry as well. Might have wished he waited a bit longer in hindsight.
@Dream: You’ve got it right Dream. The Braves did want FF, but AA’s firm in his bidding. Freeman’s agent tried to play games w/AA over an extra year (that FF didn’t get from the Dodgers either.) Freddie’s agent lost the game of musical chairs when AA tired of his BS and pivoted to the A’s for Olson. FF had to take LA’s deferred money deal. He had no other option.
@Dream: Skenes gonna make a lotta guys walk the plank this year. Hitters gonna scream “Arggggggh matey” when they see him on the mound.
Skenes better because he ain’t getting any runs with that line up. When the shell of himself 40 year old cutch is your 3rd best hitter and I think 3rd in hrs you are in trouble. Their gm needed fired so the best thing for them is another losing season so ownership finally wakes up. Bottom 5 payroll needs top 5 player development.
I think the lockout may have played a part. The negotiation window was artificially short, if you believe that they didn’t talk during the lockout.
@Dream: Yeah, pretty much all pitch, no hit for your Pirates. Adding a couple of decent bats could give the rest of that Division fits w/your pitching.
2025 2026 2027 already determined. They can sign Winker Pillar and get lucky wim division or last wild card. Do a rebuild when Skenes Jones Keller are gone and try again 5 years later. But a new gm who somehow finds good development coaches could just keep it rolling like Cleveland Milwaukee Tampa. Can always wish and dream on new hitting coach making Davis and Suwinski good. 20 and 30 hr guys just failed by poor coaching.
@Dream: I really wanted the Braves to try and deal for Suwinski last off season before they got Kelenic. I thought Suwinski would’ve been a good candidate for swing improvements under Seitzer’s tutelage. Still think he’s got untapped potential.
He was already good. 800 something ops vs RHP. They tried to teach him to hit LHP and cut down on strike outs and made him where he couldn’t do anything other than stand their and take strike 3. They might make playoffs if they fix him. He’s a legit ok CF (have cruz so not needed but nice for LF at pnc) and 30 hrs as just a strong platoon. Davis hit everywhere but MLB. Pirates failed to teach him to catch so I think being so behind there messed his hitting up at mlb. Then just threw him in RF. What a mess. The week or month or whatever he spent at drive line taught him more about catching then the Pirates did in years. Really impressive what they did for him. I can right a novel on Pirates development failure. To sum it up you better be highly motivated to seek out non Pirates instruction.
Meanwhile, he lives near the Orioles Spring Training facilities, which is very important to a lot of players. And he can fly from Baltimore to Bradenton in 2.5 hours. Not like he signed with Seattle.
Low risk signing, I like it.
Say what you want, but I think 15 is way too much for a 41 year old.
Yeah, but pitching is expensive and Morton has a history of being able to give you 30 starts a year with decent results.
It’s not a high upside addition, but a safe one.
@oak
Age is somewhat irrelevant on a one year deal. The team has a small budget to blow, and Moron was a solid, if not spectacular pitcher last year. They’ll hope he has one more year left in him, and if they aren’t in contention, then they can trade him for an asset by the trade deadline.
He got $20MM as a 40 yr old.
$500,000 per start – I guess is one way to look at it…
A+
It’s 1 year. Well under 20m. If he can still do it you get a #4. Good value. If he’s finished it’s 1 year. If his stuff declines I would try going back to ground chuck. So maybe he isn’t finished if he is finished.
Alarming Atlanta didn’t want him. Maybe they got a better pitcher in mind. Hoffman?
Not necessarily that, but they need some room for AJSS, Waldrep, etc to grow into though they don’t want to commit 15M to a SP5 would be in most seasons, just like they didn’t want to do 8M for a backup C (d’Arnaud). There are still some other bands out there for IP to not give him that 1/15M. Also, Holmes is underrated and wouldn’t doubt him being a weapon out of the pen and sporadic GS.
I would guess they add someone but I have no idea. You need 8 or 9 guys and maybe they have it it. I don’t watch enough to know. If they got them already then sure they are ready to go.
Mandela effect? Timeline change? I can’t read? Mlbtr mistake? I seen 13m and it’s 15. Still fine signing but no longer A+. They physiological difference between 13 and 15 really hit me.
I never saw 13.
Depends or should I say depend on when you seen it. When I clicked on article there was 1 comment. And I could have seen it wrong. But if it wasn’t misprint I lean towards Mandela.
When I saw it? Five minutes after it was announced.
@YourDreamGM
There’s a difference between “not wanted” and fitting other people in, sometimes there isn’t room.
Their rotation may be so good they don’t need him. We’ll see. I prefer too much pitching if that’s such a thing so I don’t need to make expensive trades at deadline.
Maybe they decided that the future is now and wished him well.
He’s 41
Love to see it
Make sure to ask Roger Beshens about him saving the career of Charlie Morton. If you ask him all 15 mil should go to him. I’d have to agree, the football slider is a thing of legend
has the Roger Beshens guy waken up from his afternoon nap yet?
Ahhhh shiiii… not you too!
I am eagerly awaiting new innovations from the Roger Beshens Baseball Laboratory. The Roger Beshens Basketball Slider, the Roger Beshens Curling Slider, etc.
Consider me unimpressed… until I see the Atlatl slider.
I’ve got a mean electric slide!
I apologize for my ignorance! I’ll light a candle and say 20 Hail Rogers as penance.
I actually watched the videos of him teaching it to mlb players coaches and even managers. Thought it would be a waste of time. Boy was I wrong. It was truly something.
We eagerly await for our savior Roger Beshens to awake. We will sit like children at his feet as he regales us with tales of the legendary football slider and weaves stories of nobodies turned Hall of famers. He then tells us, “You too, can be like them. All you must do is learn”
We cry tears of joy that we bask in his presence and knowledge
I heard he can jump 12 feet high and run 30 miles per hour. Plus he can throw a football slider 150mph
I’ve never been more excited in my life. Worship will consist of take me out to the ballgame before and after service. Mr. Beshens will preach about the Almighty football slider that can save all
It’s the football slider on the inside that counts
Lmao.. that’s all I have to say about that move for the Orioles $15 Million.. when I was reading it, I was expecting like a $5 million no risk signing. This is why after 35 years of watching these freaks I had to stop last year. “All we need is pitching” since the last 40 years.. 40 years later they still don’t know what pitching is
If you think the Orioles haven’t had excellent pitching in 40 years, you certainly have not been watching them for 35 years, LOFL.
lol besides Burnes for one year, Our last true Ace was Mike Mussina.. and that was 20 years ago. Unfortunately I did watch them, I don’t think you did tho
Erik Bedard had a nice season and then you trade him to the Mariners where he he melts down. That was when the Mariners couldn’t develop squat for pitching and Bedard was going to be our knight in shining armour.
Bedard was better for Seattle than we remember him to be. But he missed a lot of starts.
Good year to stop – right after 101 and 92 win seasons. We’ll done
It doesn’t matter how many they win if they lose every playoff game. You think too simple with the Orioles. After 35years I’m done with their excuses
It 100% matters how many they win. That’s the only way of getting to the playoffs. But it’s cool with us if you have stopped watching; nobody cares.
Guess you didn’t watch the ALCS or division series games. We won’t miss you!
This is an amazing deal for Morton. Both Boog’s BBQ and Pickles Pub offer AARP discounts.
Not to mention Johns Hopkins has a top-notch Gerontology department.
Camden Yards Retirement Home
I like the pickup, he’s been a league-average or better starter each of the past 4 seasons and has pitched at least 160 innings each of those seasons. The money is a little more than we should have spent on him but not that much and it’s only for one season. This is a very solid depth signing for a position that is plagued with injuries. We’re still 6 weeks away from pitchers and catchers reporting but every bama in the comments seems to think this will be the last move the Orioles make this off-season even though Elias made a huge trade last February.
I think they are fine. O’s have 7/8 potential starters throughout the year. That will suffice ! Quantity of quality and then make a deal in season for an ace if no one on staff rises to occasion
The price for an ace will be crazy for one and for 2, Elias already stated no rentals at the break.
He’s banking on Grayson living up to his hype then. Not a bad bet ! This could be his breakout cy young contention year
Plus love that foreign guy O’s grabbed !
Can you provide reference for Elias saying “no rentals at the break?” Was that this offseason or previously?
Lighting money on fire
Morton is basically getting the same money as Boyd or Cobb. Its just the going rate this year. Two years ago, Heaney set the rate at 9MM with his signing, and last year was Gibson and Lynn at 12MM.
Os FO sees Sugano, Morton and Eflin as placeholders.
Rodriguez, Bradish and Wells are their long term TOR type arms with Rodriguez possibly maturing in to a 1 as early as this season. And before injury Bradish was already a 2 and still developing.
Os are gonna be breaking ST camp with a better rotation than they had in 2023. Stay healthy fellas. And with Bradish and Wells on the mend …
back sometime mid season?
Wells will be in the pen or possibly DFA’d at some point this year
The wall moving in is really going to hurt Wells too. That guy gives up way too many HRS.
I definitely don’t think he’s turning into a TOR type. Might be an effective reliever but we’ll see after the surgery.
Jeff
I’m sorry, but
1. Rodriguez has yet to prove that he can put together a sustained stretch of excellence. He has not cleared The Ballard Hurdle. Plus he’s coming off a significant injury. He’s a 3 at the moment, a 2 upside.
2. Bradish is coming off a major injury. He was closer to a 2. We’re not seeing him until July at the earliest (unclear if the rehab was to start in July or if the rehab would start and he might be back in MLB in July)
3. Wells has a Ken Dixon-esque propensity in giving up dingers. The 2023 WHIP despite how hard balls get hit against him was one of the biggest statistical anomalies in baseball, like Kyle Gibson winning 15 games. Not a MLB caliber starter. And how much upside can he have? He’s almost 30…the Orioles will be looking at him again in 2036.
Braddish is a low #1. we will see after the injury how he returns.
Wells isn’t a future TOR nor was he ever viewed as such. He used to project as a MOR or a BOR. After two TJs he might be a long reliever at best.
Also, idiot Thornton has no effing clue trying to compare Grayson to Jeff Ballard. Ballard had one good MLB season, was not drafted high, was never a top prospect and had modest success in the minors. Ballard racked up some Ws in the Orioles “Why Not?” 1989 season but could not strike out batters and got hit hard consistently. The two pitchers couldn’t be much more different. What a moron!
Guys. You got me rethinking about Wells. That said, I stand firm with Rodriguez and Bradish as high end arms and for multiple yrs to come as Orioles.
15 mil per is the going rate for a back end starter these days. Crazy.
Grats! Morton and Japanese pitcher for same price as Burnes
$210 million?
Bnickles127;
Tomoyuki Sugano will receive $13million.
Charlie Morton will receive $15million.
Corbin Burns will receive $210 million.
–
I assume you have a graduate degree from an American college and are hoping for a career in the Federal government, the American media, or both.
Many of the posters here have 6-7 year-old grandchildren that don’t understand your posts. However, with another 10-14 years of American education I’m sure in time they will.
If you say American one more time you will get the high score. It’s there for you if you want it
@Samuel: you’re being awfully snarky for someone who doesn’t understand that they clearly meant for 2025.
Sugano $13 million plus Morton $15 million = $28 million
Burnes (not “Burns”) = $32 million AAV
So, two pitchers for the price of one in 2025. Won’t be as effective but their point stands.
Still not the same price considering guaranteed contract status. Also, there was no indication that Burnes wanted to sign with the Orioles.
There was at least the slight possibility of signing with Baltimore, because of relationships built and winning years coming for the length of the contract. But there was no other city in the northeast that had a legit shot. He wanted to live with his family
@rct: Samuel probably just added you to his famous “Over 100 MLB Posters Muted List.” Congratulations on joining the club! Be careful. Next thing you know, blackpink/BITA will do the same.
… and Thornton
I agree with you, basically. But we both understand that we can’t view those salaries in a vacuum. The Burnes’ commitment is for 6 of those ~$35MM AAV. The Orioles probably won’t be paying either of those two SPs in 2026. Nor Eflin. PS Even Samuel understands, which makes his comment that much snarkier. And intellectually dishonest. And then he tries to get political while insulting others’ intelligence, making himself look even worse.
YAY!!!!!
Good grief. What a shock!
I await Morton’s introductory press conference where he tells the media he was leaning toward retirement to spend more time with his family but that something completely unrelated to the money drew him back to the game.
If it was one of morton or sugano, id be ok. But both? Horrible. This is not how you upgrade your rotation. Ive been quietly trust elias but this is a great disappointment.
Hey Mike, this is not an ace! “D’OH”
Nor was he signed to be. He was signed because he hasn’t missed a start in 8 years. Durability is appealing,
Morton still has a great curveball but I don’t know about this. If I was gambling on a 40 year old my choice was Max.
So if his junk is now his trademark, he’s in big trouble when that pitch gets barreled up consistently in the Al East lineups…..
Good news is that he does get to play against washed up lemahieu & goldy!
Max wants more $.
Is he worth $21M? – He is probably asking for more
The difference being that Max’s injuries make some worry he is breaking down. Morton’s durability has been epic. He hasn’t missed a turn in the rotation since 2017!
Now they need to commit to adding to the bullpen. Any of Yates, Hoffman, and Scott all make sense.
Except 2 of them aren’t actually starters but thanks for your valuable input
You don’t add “starters” to the “bullpen,” generally speaking.
Is there any news on Verlander?
Exactly aside from Kate Upton who cares?….the guy is DONE!
Don’t know how he gets away with that scruffy beard look. Gotta produce a pretty gnarly motor boat rash.
I don’t think he’s done. Be interesting to see how his 2025 stacks up against the rest of the 40+ starter group.
Love this guy, cool he gets to get at least another year on a good team… but still orioles wtf are you doing?
This is brutal. Have spent close to 100 million on junk. Its like dumpster diving at Nordstroms
Great analogy. Or maybe the Os are trafficking the clearance aisle at Target or Kohls Better off going large like your supposed rivals Yankees, Red Sox. Mid market grabs are really the worst. Go big or go the other extreme like the White Sox (Goodwill).
Sandoval and Buehler mean “going large?” I can’t see that. Is Crochet for real or made of glass?
Real. Looking like 3rd place or bust
We’ll see, won’t we. Not like his track record screams continuing health for the future.
A good 1 year fit.
I don’t get this move for the O’s. They are just building a rotation full of 4th and 5th of the rotation type pitchers, and although there is value in having those guys and having depth, you have to have that dog/ace in there that you can really lean on. Corbin was that guy but after that, everyone else is a question mark in my opinion, with some guys having a little upside.
On top of that, this is a clear overpay. Braves kept paying 20 mil for his services and last year he finally showed he wasn’t remotely worth that contract. He’s still a capable 5th but 15 mil is too much for his age, recent perform, and risk lvl due to age.
Just because they make a depth move today doesn’t mean they aren’t working on a bigger move. Every crybaby O’s fan was wetting their pants last January saying much the same things they are saying here in this thread and complaining the team would never make a move for an ace, then February came around and Elias brought in Burnes. We’re still a month and a half away from pitchers and catchers reporting. Not to mention how last off-season we didn’t bother with depth moves for the starting rotation and that killed us once the young guys kept landing on the IL..
As for the price, maybe it was a slight overpay but Alex Cobb is a lot more injury-prone and signed for the same amount of money. They have a nearly identical ERA+ number over the past four seasons but Morton has thrown twice as many innings despite Cobb being 4 years younger. Cobb is a little more consistent but $15M is what a veteran backend SP goes for nowadays.
The O’s are having a really rough offseason in my opinion, have cash to spend, prospects to trade, and a window to capitalize on and aren’t doing so. They could easily do better than Morton simply closing their eyes and pointing their finger at the farm and offering that person for a trade to any organization.
FanGraphs values Morton’s performance last season around $8 million. Factor in age and regression I’d value him at $6-7 million, then the overpay of a 1 year deal I’d say 8-10 mil is appropriate for a 1 year deal for his services. Is this truly a bad deal, absolutely not. It’s a perfectly fine, acceptable deal. It won’t hurt them and they are better today than they other would be for it and there is no bad 1 year contract. I just don’t see a deal on the market currently that will be an impact move unless they trade, which they have shown they won’t do. There isn’t a FA left that is truly an impact pitcher. And JF isn’t the guy
“I just don’t see a deal on the market currently that will be an impact move unless they trade, which they have shown they won’t do.”
I don’t know how you came to that conclusion when they traded for Burnes last off-season and Eflin at the deadline.
Corbin Burnes and Zach Eflin were literally acquired via trade.
Morton had made just under $45.1M over 11 seasons and 17 overall years (or 11 major league seasons) as a professional baseball player when he first started to talk about how he was retiring- and he has made or will have made at least $110.556M over 7 seasons (or about $120M if the 2020 season hadn’t been pro-rated) since he insisted he’s on the cusp of retiring or would rather retire.
I don’t hate him or anything like that, I just find it a fascinating approach.
Look- a lot of entertainers announce their retirement when they really mean they’re taking the summer off or a year off from releasing content, I just find it funny that a baseball player takes the same approach.
Ozzy’s first farewell tour was in 1991.
Maybe Charlie’s wife fills him full of pills and spends all his money so he has to keep pitching.
Who knows.
In all honesty I think some of these guys have a relatively low financial goal when they first get into whatever insanely lucrative business they’re in, the seasonal/touring schedule is truly exhausting and they likely look at what they’ve earned vs what they’ve spent and what their annual cost of living is and can’t imagine needing more money and they honestly do want a break that is longer then their typical gap between seasons or between tours or between film projects or whatever the case may be- and by threatening to quit it really does convince people to throw a little extra money at them and once their downtime sets in and they realize the massive difference between “I wish I could get a few extra weeks of downtime than I usually get” and “I am no longer working, I have rescheduled my self imposed pinnacle and by doing so I set my bar surprisingly low, given the career I would’ve walking away from.” They change their minds and then every time they complete a work cycle (a tour, a season, a bunch of films, whatever) they get feel so exhausted they once again you with the idea of all that extra downtime retirement could bring them and they declare themselves retired… only to “conscious of retirement” sane tons next year and repeat the cycle can extra 5,10,15 years or more beyond that original “final year of working”.
I know tons of very successful people who “retired” around 50 or 60 only to get bored quickly and start consulting or joining all kinds of boards or investing in a start up just to give themselves something to do without it being a requisite 40+ hour a week commitment they found potentially be fired from.
I truly do not know anybody who has fully retired with zero work type efforts despite “retiring” years ago.
I guess it’s the same with baseball- and just like how a guy like Morton is making more money than ever to keep coming back, these aforementioned retirees I know tend to get paid a quarter or a year’s worth of their old salaries for only a few days or weeks of consulting while being technically retired.
It’s just a thing in our society I guess. We live to work and exercise it didn’t hurt to keep making very good money, if the opportunity is there to do so, even if we emotionally want to be done with our working careers.
*sorry for the typos but you get what I mean…
@TrillionaireTeamOperator The rare “wall of text” I got through anyway. Good comment.
Welcome to the AL East where pitchers on the down side of their careers, go to die…….the entire Al East are offensive beasts….no relief up and down these lineups……
no relief in Yankees, Rays or Jays lineups – ok – whatever you say
LOL! Yankers don’t have anyone you can’t pitch to except Judge. I guess Caminero is for real but the rest of the lineup is mid. Besides Vlad and Bo, the Jays lineup looks pretty bad.
Guess thst means Flaherty is re-signing with the Tigers to slot in as the #2 pitcher!
It’s like they’re purposely trying to go in reverse. After last year’s trade deadline where they traded to become a worse team I knew the “window” was closed. They’ve shown multiple times that they’re not serious about contending. They’re nothing more than a passive source of income for whatever ownership group is running things. These moves are a disgrace.
Window is not closed anytime soon. Rubenstein is not a cheapskate.
Window may not be closed yet fo sho. But the shades are being drawn, lights are turning up and the stools are getting flipped on the tables. Time to decide who you’re taking home
Unfortunately I never find out who I went home with until the next morning, and that can get awkward.
They really are not. Do you not know the Orioles roster or are you trolling?
Do you not know the difference between what it takes to amass 101 *(checks notes), er 91 regular season wins against the rump of middle America, versus what it may take to excel in a short series against elite competition? Unless you’re ginned up about adding another adult medium orange and black “MLB postseason” tshirsey to your closet, the design suspiciously mass produced for 11 other cities with different colors. Nothing screams “I’m unique” at the Lutherworld Church picnic more then sporting that 2003 Minnesota Twin AL central hoodie over my Sunday finery. But, hey, you do you.
The 100 win 2023 Dodgers were swept out. Then guess what happened.
I have a strong feeling you are projecting with the medium t-shirt comment. Your online personality is that of a tween. Ain’t no way in the world you ever played competitive baseball at the college level or semi-pro level like some of us. Your ignorance of the game comes through.
They spent close to 100 million. The crap they’ve spent it on makes me think the owner is pushing to spend but Elias is forced to take leftovers
Orioles improved at the deadline. Eflin’s acquisitiion was brilliant and important. Good job getting Dominguez and Soto last year too.
Also, it’s pure idiocy to think Rubenstein needs a “passive source of income” from the Orioles. He’s a huge fan – native Baltimorean, lifelong Oriole fan – staking a vanity project. He’s willing to pay to win a WS. He has so many other sources of income, he and his ownership group only need the long-term increase in franchise value to make the money work.
I don’t think that this puts the O’s over the top, I would say that the team is not a strong as last year as it sits right now after losing a #1 Starter in Corbin Burnes. Don’t know if each side even tried but the O’s and the Mariners seem like such a great match. Mountcastle (O’s also have O’Hearn) and a 2b or 3b for Luis Castillo? I understand that it’s not going to be Mountcastle and Westburg but the O’s have a lot of infielders-Urias, Mayo,Mateo…Castillo is not Burnes but he is close in durability, make-up, consistency and overall stuff. Castillo at $22.75 million and Morton $15 million, albeit Castillo has 2-3 years remaining on his contract. Still three years from now will be much younger than Morton is right now.
Over the top! This is the year they break thru to win one playoff game. You can do it O!
I don’t think BAL is necessarily done bolstering their starters. They may want to assess things in ST and then they can still make a trade for someone good
Cease, Castillo, Montgomery or other AZ SP, S. Gray, J. Gray, Fedde, P. Lopez, One of SEA SPs besides Castillo
Like every team they could improve their Bullpen
Losing Bradish, Wells, Means, and Bautista was a huge blow. Hoping Bautista is back and Bradish will come back in 2nd half
Bradish is more like late August at earliest.
Last year at this time, they didn’t have Burnes.
Seattle would probably prefer to keep Castillo over trading for Mountcastle, whom they’d control for only 2 years and would be paying about $20MM for those two ARB years. Nor would they find Urias or Mateo worthwhile. And Mayo’s value is so much higher than Castillo’s that there is no possibility of a trade including him. I’d really like for the Orioles to trade for Castillo but it would be more appealing to me to trade Cowser for Castillo plus a little salty relief. Cowser’s value will never be higher than now.
“Salty relief”?
Hm…
There aren’t many players I would trade Cowser for. Castillo is not one of them
@Ra
I also don’t believe Cowser will ever be better than the version we saw last year but even at that he’s pretty valuable long term. Mullins will walk and we have no idea if Bradfield or Beavers will hack it in the majors. CF would be a black hole v lefties because Mullins can not be in the lineup against one.
Has to be more than Castillo to give up a guy like Cowser.
Hopefully this leads to a trade for Castillo including Kremer.
No coffee,no Kremer
The first half doesn’t work.
Isn’t this what you are supposed to do? Build an outstanding young core, and surround them with solid veterans? Save your top prospects for the trade deadline? I don’t see how this is any kind of problem. If Morton sucks, the O’s cut him loose, no loss of prospect, international bonus .loss, no draft pick compensation loss. All upside. All killer, no filler!
You must take your date to Arby’s for your anniversary. Not that there’s anything wrong with dat.
Nah Costco for that hot dog/soda combo for $1.50. Best deal in town
Except Ace Ventura here didn’t spring for the membership. So makes his partner dash in thru the exit through the labyrinth of rush hour shopping carts hoping the homeroom marm is preoccupied checking off receipts
Are you drunk or just stupid?
Also, who celebrates an anniversary with a “date?”
Noted. Drunk fat stupid. Faber college. Good times. Wonder what Otter is up to.
Are you kidding! I don’t have Arby’s money! McValue menu for us.
All killer, no filler. Outstanding! Like the Buzzcocks set. 23 songs, 49 minutes. No breaks or encores. The one I missed in its entirety by oversleeping and getting to the club an hour late even though my room was on the 4th floor in the same building. True story. No opening act and the lights came on as I scurried in. But I digress
[You merit your third Fonzie thumb up for using ‘All Killer, No Filler!’ in a sentence]
And I thought I was bad for oversleeping my 2:30pm Statistics 101 midterm in college. But it takes a true punk rocker to oversleep and miss an ultimate punk rock concert. I don’t think anybody can beat that. (I mean the punk rockers themselves even managed to show up to their own concert.) Truly astonishing and ultimately badass behavior bro!
Okay, like it! Charlie Morton welcome to Charm City!
Are they out on Dylan Cease now?
Unsure. They could package Kremer now with a prospect like Fabian or Beavers for Cease. That might appeal to SD.
I don’t know IF I was a BAL fan I would be cautiously optimistic.
I WOULD have concerns that his gas gauge is down to a 1/4 full.
The $ is kind of the going rate. There are other SPs I might prefer but …
a lot of competition for players and so many want 3 plus years so
I hope his stats are something like 14-8 3.85 ERA with 140 IP WHIP 1.25
Beat NYY Beat NYY Win the Division.
I hope Sugano works out well also.
GO Orange and Black Birds.
Time for the Baby Birds to leave the nest and SOAR also! Viva! Viva!
BAL has GOT to strengthen their bullpen to compete with NYY and BOS in that division
A lot depends on how strongly Bautista returns. It’s a good pen if he’s pretty good. It’s a great pen if he returns to what he was.
Fly Eagles Fly! Oop wrong city
In the AL east…if he stays upright…. 4.5 ERA WHIP 1.3 or so, 150 IP over 30 starts if they leave him in?
Re, the gas gauge. His k/9 last year was 9.1. That qualifies as “great according to Fangraphs, or an A-/B+ grade. My guess is closer to 11-7, 4.00 ERA, 160 IPs, 1.30 WHIP. Either one of those results would prove serviceable
New O’s owners really fooling their fans
Idiotic take. Do some research before making a fool of yourself by exposing your ignorance.
Yuck
One word review from Joel. I don’t think he’s impressed lol.
Just not what the Orioles needed. Hopefully your Mariners do something soon. Rojas was a decent player.
My guess is that Charlie will do “okay” for a few months, then start to deteriorate. Does this mean the Flaherty talks are off?
Yep, I see him fading too. Hopefully timing of it overlaps with Bradish return.
Probably Flaherty is no longer in consideration. I read they wanted a 5-year contract! I would never commit 5 years to Flaherty. Three is the very most I could conceive of.
Poor man’s Bartolo. In some circles he goes as Hobo sexy
Rich Man’s Rich Hill?
Sorry, but how does Cobb get the same money as Morton?
I like Cobb a lot but he’s coming off an injury laced season and Morton will give you 170 IP in his sleep at an acceptable ERA. Also, Braves could have ponied up $15M for Morton.
Morton’s age and geographical desires played into this. He wasn’t going to go west. Lives close to the O’s ST site.
Cobb may have the higher ceiling if he stays healthy? That’s my only guess.
Only way this makes sense is if Kremer and his 3yrs remaining get packaged with Mountcastle for a solid SP or Mayo for a front-end SP.
If not, I just don’t see the point.
I’m praying you’re right regarding Mountcastle and Kremer (maybe something else). No on Mayo.
Kremer, Mountcastle, and perhaps Beavers to the Padres for Cease?
Not sure what the padres would want with Mountcastle.
They need a First Baseman or a DH depending on Arraez
I guess that’s true. But the only reason the Padres would want to move Cease is because of freeing up cash and he’s only set to make about $13MM. Mountcastle will make about $6MM. I feel like if they move Cease, it would be for all prospects.
Cease will fetch more than that.
Might just take Kremer and Beavers or Fabian plus a competitive balance pick if the Padres want to dump salary.
Cease is worth well more than his salary so that’s pretty irrelevant.
It’ll take what it did to get Burnes. That’s the going price and Free agent starters got a lot more this year than last.
Sigh.
Orioles walk into the casino and sit at the 50 cent blackjack tables.
This signing does not move the needle. Another body for the back end does not make the rotation better. You can only improve it from the top. Instead of spending 35 million next year for one of those they would rather spend 28 million on two question marks you’re not even sure can spend the year on the back end!
I’m 50, and I can still run it up there well above 60 mph. They can have me for 6 or 7 million.
This is maybe slightly higher “back end innings eater” signing than Kyle Gibson was 3 years ago when the team was supposedly not ready to win yet. Guess what? They still aren’t!
So I don’t hate the low risk/gamble pitching signings of Sugano and Morton but they certainly don’t look that good when they’re replacing one of the best pitchers in baseball last year. These are the depth types of moves you make after finding an acceptable replacement for that ace level type of production. If this is all they’re going to do, Grayson and Eflin are going to literally have to lights out from the start. You can’t feasibly rely on guys coming back from injuries (Wells/Bradish) and you dont know exactly what you have from Povich/McDermott yet.
Right, they are not replacing Burnes with them. Eflin and GrOD Almighty become the TORs, Kremer, Sugano and Morton have all shown excellent durability. Their value should be providing consistent bridges to the bullpen.
I want to see McDermott in the pen this year. He’s 26 and can handle that role. There’s plenty of depth for the rotation as it stands.
Better than nothing but less than Baltimore deserves.
Thus far, the front office has shown it can draft/develop some excellent prospects, but hasn’t shown a great knack for putting the finishing touches on a potentially great team.
They have only been allowed to spend for 10 months now. The former owner, John Angelos, insisted on extracting every penny of revenue from the franchise since it was his sole source of income.
i know this isn’t how it works, but as a fan i believe the job of a gm is to do everything they can to convince the owner to spend as much money as possible. this goes for elias, cashman, stearns etc. overpay for burnes if that’s what it takes. they’re in danger of missing the halley’s comet of baseball: an oriole championship window
You don’t have a knowledge of baseball history, obviously.
Morton for 15 is a bargain in this market. You might get high end Morton and get a 130 ERA+. Almost a guarantee to be at least league average starter
Most of the starts will be high end 6/7 IP 3 ER or less. He gets lit up worse when he doesn’t have it because he’s older, but watching him last year he still has plenty in the tank to dominate like a #2 most of the time
The probability that he loses it completely and tanks the season is extremely low based on his starts from late last season
Very very good and smart signing by Baltimore
@Camden: Well said. As a Braves fan, I’m glad to see an O’s fan that gets what Morton brings to you guys. Strong intangibles too. Braves kid pitchers going to miss his influence.
O’s should sign Rich Hill next
The Atlanta Braves AA Balked on Morton’s demands for $15M and has reportedly been in talks with the Dodgers Peanut and Popcorn vendors just to make a splash in the 2025 free agent and trade market and to avoid questions from Braves fans hearing NOTHING BUT CRICKETS!
The track record for 41 year old starters is amazing, no wait…………….
Bartolo Colon is out there
@GriffeyJrFan
There are plenty that pitched well at over 41 years of age
Nolan Ryan
Randy Johnson
Phil Niekro
Rich Hill
Greg Maddux, to name but a few, and imagine criticizing Colon who played till he was 45. How many major league diamonds did you make it on to, maybe a baseball diamond at the local park where you pretended or attempted to hit a ball off a tee.
Jaime Moyer ! Charlie Hough !
ThE sYsTeM iz BRokeN!
This isn’t a good signing and his numbers this year won’t come close to matching last years. Father Time is undefeated
@GriffeyJrFan
Can you share next week’s lotto numbers since you have a crystal ball to see into the future.
The probability is his numbers will be VERY SIMILAR to last year’s. He has been extremely durable. I’m sure you are ignorant of the fact that he has been so healthy he hasn’t missed a start since 2017.
@Ra: You appear to be ignorant of the fact that Morton was placed on the 15 day IL on 9/23/24 due to right index finger inflammation that forced him out of a start vs the Nats on the 23rd. He missed the rest of the season and the NLDS due to the injury. While Morton has been quite durable over the last several seasons, it’s not true that “he has been so healthy he hasn’t missed a start since 2017.”
It’s not super exciting but I’m fine with it. I guess.
Burnes was clearly Plan A, but that didn’t work out, and Flaherty probably wanted more guaranteed years than he deserves right now, so sign a pair of 1 year deals with competent veterans who should be able to cover innings at an acceptable level and keep the payroll flexible for the trade deadline and next offseason.
Lol. The ole “I’m fine with it I guess”. Quite a ringing endorsement.
Well they spend money. Some. On a 40 year old.
We’ve got a solid 1-5 with Sugano and Morton joining Eflin, Grayrod, and Kremer, and there’s good depth behind it with Suarez, Povich, Rogers, McDermott, and Young, plus Bradish and/or Wells returning in the second half.
It’s not super sexy but it’s plenty good enough when paired with one of the best offenses in the sport like the Orioles have, so I’m fine with it to at least get us to the trade deadline.
Is that what wins championships? A solid 5?
Hey at least they got those extra draft picks……
The Orioles were already one of the best teams in baseball prior to the Morton signing and the Morton signing only makes them better.
What exactly am I supposed to upset about here? At least in your estimation.
Orioles really need to make a trade now though for Castillo or Cease or Lopez etc. It would behoove them greatly to make that one last move. Icing on the cake.
The past two WS winners won championships with just “a solid 3.” So, yes, that is what (can) win championships.
The Morton signing positions them well to trade Kremer-plus for a better SP
I doubt that’s happening lol. The Morton signing positions them to be finished for the offseason
ISOB- I don’t really see the need for it at this point. Adding another SP would require moving Kremer to the bullpen or trading him, and I don’t see that happening since he will be needed for 2026’s rotation.
BITA- I still expect an addition of at least some note to the bullpen, but even if that doesn’t happen, it was a pretty solid offseason overall, especially when compared to the John Angelos era of penny-pinching at all costs.
They’ve got still got almost 7 MONTHS to make adjustments. As of today, only the Dodgers know their playoff roster, +/- Roki.
This also gives Elias a chance to see what he can get with our 3 first round picks in the draft next year, which in turn may make guys like Beavers, Bradfield, and Honeycutt, maybe even Mayo or Basallo, expendable at the deadline if upgrades are still necessary.
He better draft at least 1 pitcher with 3 top 35 draft picks. It’s time to put some sort of organizational investment there.
Can’t trade away pitching prospects and never draft any and expect sustainability. We’ll have to sign guys like Morton and Sugano forever with that philosophy.
We were able to grab Bradish, McDermott, and Povich in rebuild trades. Hard to acquire those guys when you’re not in rebuild mode if they aren’t coming from the draft.
He was fortunate to have been left Grod and Kremer from Duke. And to have DL Hall there as well.
Elias has been adding some young pitching via the international market but I agree that it would be nice to see some draft capital expended on some high upside arms at some point.
A bit. The large bonuses are still going out to the hitters. Which admittedly in the DR isn’t necessarily the worst strategy. We left a lot of intl money unused this past go around. Didn’t get much pub but we had the biggest pool of $ left out of any team.
But the Draft philosophy needs to mix in more pitchers fast.
He’ll be back in Atlanta at the trade deadline
I guess stranger things have happened but that would be very peculiar. I’m trying to conceive of a scenario where this occurs and am coming up empty.
Feel like they’re better off spending like 5 million extra for Scherzer or Verlander at least those guys bring gravitas and a hall of fame resume to your young team but what do I know?
Morton has taken his turn in the 5-man rotation every time since early 2017. Scherzer looks like he is breaking down. Verlander too. Morton’s greater value is in his health and durability
The dude is consistent and durable. Hopefully for Baltimore that remains the case.
This can’t be stated often enough.
Just thought of another guy the Orioles are overlooking!
Yeah, he’s lost 10+ games the last several seasons, and he had a 4.25 ERA his last season…he also hits a bunch of guys like Morton does. But he’s got experience and he was a top pitcher a few years before that. A national league guy. Also can fill in the outfield in a pinch with a career OBP higher than Mateo.
Orioles can probably get him cheap, too. Should be well rested. Definitely an innings eater.
Old Hoss Radbourn’s agent is sitting by the telegraph…
I thought the rumors of Cease for Mountcastle and Kramer were crap but Morton’s signing has wondering if that wouldn’t be a reasonable play.
More Mayo PAs as he can play more 1B and while I don’t dislike Kramer, he seemed to have a lower ceiling outside of a tremendous game in TX a couple years ago. the trade would allow them to kick the can down the street another year while awaiting Rodriguez to mature into a possible #1 and Bradish to heal up and regain his form later this year. And it allows the Birds to keep developing their young prospects. if they did that trade, the last piece would be a little bullpen help.
I think the competitive balance pick would have to be included to offset the Padres loss of the qualifying offer compensation pick for when Cease walks. I am unsure about whether Mountcastle would appeal to them. Might be they’d prefer to take the chance on 6 years of control of Beavers. Maybe Elias can trick them into taking O’Farrell.
I think it’s a very solid deal. While a #1 SP is great, the most important consideration is to make it to the playoffs. We’ve had ample evidence that a solid rotation backed by a strong bullpen can win in the playoff crap-shoot.
O’s fans wanted a veteran arm, they don’t get more veteran than this…
Wow if he got 15 mil I won’t be surprised
if scherzer or Verlander got 30 mill . AS a braves fan am happy we didn’t pay 15 mil for another year for him.
Who needs Burnes! We got a 35 year old out of Japan and a 41 year old. Now we are cooking with gas!
This is bad… Very bad…
Proven durable above replacement pitching isn’t cheap. They need as much as they can get considering their depth. It’s certainly not “very bad”. Sure getting an ace would be neat, but these kinds of moves would be needed regardless.
You are wrong. It is very bad, because he takes a roster spot that could be used for someone younger and better.
I wanted the Os to sign Morton, but that was 10 years ago.
He’s 41. They gave him 15 million. that was stupid.
He was also a member of the cheat team.
Let me know when you find them.
This is stupid, Very stupid.
It should go without saying(but apparently doesn’t) that just because you can’t buy someone good, that doesn’t mean you should overpay for someone bad.
It should be pretty easy to find a pitcher capable of equaling Morton’s ZIPS prediction of 1.4 WAR. And for a lot less than 15 million, too…plus you don’t get the ‘17 Astros taint.
So yeah. My point remains entirely valid.
See you in April.
Verlander is licking his chops now.
Good luck to Charlie Morton and the Baltimore Orioles, I hope he pitches superbly for them, just not against the Braves if they get to face him. He’s a good man, a good teammate, extremely knowledgeable, and a a very good pitcher. I have nothing but the utmost respect for Charlie Morton.
Ditto Fred.
RA Dicky is available but he wanted $16.5 Million
Nice pick-up for O’s. Can do alot worse than Morton filling out starting pitching staff. Now they need to pull-off Cease trade.
what does this say about the stasis of youth coming into baseball, when these fossils continue to find a payday.
Talent in is not matching talent out.
Rats. He is 10 days younger than me. I am a relic.
With all these soft tossers, them Orioles boys are going to break a record for double plays turned. I’m not sure how Heston grades in right, but there’s a going to be a really good defense behind these crafty vets.
Heston is better than the common view of him. He’s not fat and slow like some people make him out to be. His sprint speed is higher than Cowser’s, whom everyone thinks is a defensive wizard based on 2024 OAA. He has a strong, accurate arm. He needs some consistent reps in the OF to get his feet under him. Worst case is the value of his bat will far exceed his defensive metrics.
Well so much for retirement Charlie. Or is that just a way to get more money every off season. Hmmm…. Braves are doing terrible this free agency period.
Rubenstein is just a figurehead. The real owner of the Orioles must be Rachel Phelphs.
More and more similarities every day. Next pitcher is coming from the California Penal League.
Love this guy and I’m pretty sure most fans will as well. May not be the name everyone wanted but will no doubt help the team. Not complaining!
I think there’s a lot of value in having the “old guy” around. May not be the ace but can certainly bring something that this team lacks imo.
Tebu Dan D. strikes again.
Lots of negativity here, but I’ve always been a Morton fan. He’s lost a bit, but I mean for his age? He’s still a totally fine 4-5th starter. Is it what the O’s needed? No, but that rotation isn’t terrible overall and he solidifies it a bit.
I compared Morton’s age 36-40 seasons with the same for Rich Hill, Jamie Moyer and Bartolo Colón. Morton has taken the mound more than Hill or Colon, but much less than Moyer. His ERA is 3.91, compared to 3.77 for Moyer, 3.41 for Colon, and 3.01 for Hill. His WAR is basically identical to Colon and Hill, because he pitched more innings but not quite as well.
Salaries for age 41:
Moyer $7m in 2004
Colon $9m in 2009
Hill $2.5m in 2021 (?) — BB-ref has incomplete salary info for Hill, so I’m not sure about this
I’d say $15m for Morton represents keeping pace with salary growth since 2004 and 2009. Seems pretty in line with what I’d expect, assuming Hill is an outlier.
Mike Elias special. Maybe they’ll try to win a World Series next year, every year
I guess the allure of spending more time with his family wasn’t that strong…
He must have hated the Houston clubhouse. I remember him talking about retirement like 6 years ago. Good to see him still going. Why teams like the Mets couldn’t fork up 15mil for a quality starter I have no idea
It seems to me that the new owners of the Orioles are content to contend, and not try to capitalize on the immense amount of young talent that has graduated to the Big Leagues after thier epic tanking for several seasons.
Figure that they will be selling in 2-3 years once the young talent starts making real money in their 2nd and 3rd years of arbitration.
$15M for a 41 year old 4th starter?!?
He will always carry the cheating stink of the trashstros with him
Sleeping Tigers.
The Orioles toe the bill for Morton.
Multiple puns there.
I was hoping for Jim Palmer.
For all of those who are either confused or upset at this move should think about this move logically. First off even though the Orioles made a great offer to keep Corbin Burnes he was never going to sign. He wanted to be closer to home thus he’s a Diamondback now. Other pitchers such as Flaherty and others want long term contracts offered. The Orioles do not want to invest in long term contracts with pitchers other than Corbin Burnes. They will have Bradish, Wells coming back maybe this year but most likely next year. They have young pitchers like Povich and McDermott on the rise. Signing someone like Charlie Morton is a smart move. It cost them a one year contract at 15 million and gave them a solid 4-5 starter who can eat up innings, is a pitcher not a thrower and is money in crucial games. And for those who think the Orioles have been cheap and frugal ? They are the 6th highest spending team in MLB this offseason so far.
Bobby Morgan
I will apply logic to your post
“made a great offer for Burnes” – this offer is undisclosed. Even the supposed “franchise record” offer they made could be 7 years/162M which is nowhere close to competitive. If they indeed made something competitive, disclose and confirm exact terms. Then we know you’re trying. Until then, I’m guessing your offer was 20% low.
“other pitchers such as Flaherty and others want long term contracts…” of course they do! That’s how the entire rest of the league works! The Orioles continue to think they are smarter than everyone else not playing along and continue to have this deficiency.
“Bradish, Wells” – Bradish is an August return at earliest, he’s got 2 upside but coming off injury. Wells is not a viable MLB starter. He gets hit hard.
“Povich and McDermott” – need to see a lot more . Right now they’re in contention with many others for 4/5 slots.
“6th highest spending team in MLB offseason so far…” – have to look at what they’ve NOT done versus what they’ve done.
1. O’Neill is a cheaper, injury prone replacement instead of signing Santander
2. Sanchez is a one year replacement for McCann who wants a multi year deal (a probable wash in terms of impact)
3. Morton and Sugano are back end starters. Not even close to atone for the loss of Burnes. If they wanted Morton’s leadership so badly they could have paid him 150K and made him a pitching coach.
4. They’ve made 1 year commitments to guys like Soto and Dominguez. Same as every offseason.
Look through that lens, this team has taken steps backward. A lot of depth at the 4/5 spots just means you have enough bodies to take the mound every game. That’s improvement on Dave Trembley’s TBD every 5 games, but its not exactly competitive.
Other teams, notably the Yankees, took significant steps forward.
Orioles are a young team that will improve year over year as they develop. They have lots of time to evaluate where they stand before the trade deadline and then adjust.
Morton is exactly the kind of steady hand that lets a young staff develop and gets them through the inevitable inconsistencies that will come. If there is no room on the roster for him come July, he can always be flipped to the Dodgers to cover an IL player and win a ring before he retires.
Well now I’m worried what Verlander and Scherzer’s 1 year deals look like. Decent pull from Morton after putting up a 4.20
Morton’s value isn’t just in ERA. He’s also going to reliably take the ball every 5th day and give you approximately 170 innings. Verlander throwing that number of innings is beyond hopeful.
Charlie Morton projects for 1.4 WAR and is costing 15 million.
Reid Detmers projects for 1.7 WAR and is costing nothing.
And as much as he probably adores sunny Anaheim, I bet he’d be overjoyed to go to Baltimore, where there is a good team for the next few years.
THe O’s pocketed a lot of dough in 23 and 24. This is a business. No room for people in charge to follow their heart.
Absurd overpaid
Hard to have any sympathy for athletes these days