Charlie Morton

If there was any doubt as to whether Charlie Morton would continue his playing career following comments in which he openly pondered retirement, the right-hander indicated last night that he hopes to return for a 12th big league season at the very least (Twitter link via Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle). “I’d love to keep playing,” Morton said after last night’s game. “I’d love to be an Astro. I’d love to be a part of this again. Ultimately, it’s not really up to me. It’s not solely up to me.”

Morton’s most recent indications were that, so long as he didn’t suffer any notable injury in the season’s final month, “chances are” he’d continue his career. His intentions seem all the clearer now. Set to turn 35 next month, Morton has previously indicated that he’ll be selective about the team with which he signs and has emphasized that if he were to continue pitching, the Astros are his ideal fit. Thursday night’s comments seem to double down on that line of thinking. If a return doesn’t come together for whatever reason, Morton indicated earlier this year that proximity to his wife’s family in Delaware could be an important geographic factor should he look at offers from other teams.

It seems all but certain that the Astros will issue a $17.9MM qualifying offer to Morton, so speculatively speaking, perhaps that’ll be a simple avenue for him to return to Houston in 2019. However, there’s little doubt that if he wanted to seek maximum value in free agency, Morton could trounce that figure on the heels of a pair of eye-opening campaigns with the ’Stros. Morton has made 55 starts for Houston across the past two seasons, pitching to a pristine 3.36 ERA with 10.4 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 0.92 HR/9 and a 49.6 percent ground-ball rate. At this point, he’s probably among baseball’s 25 to 30 best starting pitchers — an ascension that seems rapid and out of the blue but is no more sudden than the surge that netted a 37-year-old Rich Hill a three-year deal in free agency two offseasons ago.

It’s not clear exactly how long Morton wishes to continue his career, and the right-hander himself may not even truly know the answer to that question at this time. But it’d be a surprise if he didn’t receive a qualifying offer, and if chooses to explore the open market rather than agree to a quick return to Houston, it’s at least plausible that he could more than double the $40.7MM he’s made in his career on his next contract. One way or the other, he’s about to cash in on a massive raise from the modest two-year, $14MM deal that initially brought him to Houston.

Charlie Morton has said on multiple occasions in the past that he’s unsure of how long he’ll continue playing — most recently telling The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan back in April that he is “not going to keep playing for a long time” while pondering the possibility of retirement following the current season. At the time, Morton listed numerous factors — his growing family, his health, the quality of his performance, a team’s proximity to his wife’s family in Delaware — as some of the numerous factors that would influence his decision.

Morton once again commented on his future this weekend when chatting with Kaplan’s colleague, Ken Rosenthal, and while he stopped short of a definitive declaration, he did imply that a 2019 return could be in the cards (subscription link). Morton plainly stated that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to be apart from his wife and children, but he also suggested he still has the desire to compete at a high level: “If I stay healthy and throw well, chances are I’ll try to continue pitching.”

The 34-year-old Morton has certainly checked all the boxes in terms of health and his own personal performance; he’s just 8 2/3 innings shy of his career-high in terms of innings pitched and has turned in an excellent 3.15 ERA with 10.8 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, 0.99 HR/9 and a 47.1 percent ground-ball rate. Morton did have a brief stint on the disabled list in late August/early September due to some discomfort in his right shoulder, but he required only a minimal 10-day absence. He’s allowed four runs with a 10-to-2 K/BB ratio in 11 innings since returning.

I’ve speculated in the past that Morton is a sensible candidate to accept a qualifying offer, as issuing a one-year offer in the range of $18MM is a veritable no-brainer for the Astros organization. That’d give Morton the opportunity to remain where he’s comfortable and earn at a relatively premium rate while keeping open the possibility retiring to spend time with his family following the 2019 season.

However, if Morton wants to pursue a more significant contract, such interest would surely be there in the offseason — even were he to turn down that QO. Already at this point, even just two full seasons into what looks to be a legitimate late-career breakout, he’s demonstrated more than Rich Hill had when Hill was able to secure a three-year, $48MM pact. Hill’s contract spanned his age-37 through age-39 seasons; Morton is turning 35 this November, meaning a three-year deal for him would end with the same season (age-37) with which Hill’s contract began.

Last year’s free-agent freeze rightly creates questions about what even the most compelling free agents can expect to earn in the upcoming offseason, but there’s certainly a case to be made that Morton has pitched himself into consideration for a deal that would top Hill’s $48MM guarantee — or at the very least, top his annual salary on a shorter-term arrangement. Even if a three-year deal offer doesn’t materialize, Morton should have little difficulty in finding one- and two-year offers that are enticing for a player whose career earnings to date sit a bit shy of $41MM.

Over the past 13 months, right-hander Charlie Morton has ascended from a relatively unheralded signing by the Astros to one of the top pitchers on a loaded Houston roster. The 34-year-old righty currently leads the American League with a 0.72 ERA and has posted a dominant 33-to-6 K/BB ratio. Dating back to Opening Day 2017, and including his postseason heroics, Morton has a 3.32 ERA with a 221-to-62 K/BB ratio in his past 195 innings.

The righty, who turns 35 in November, has suggested in the past that he’s not sure whether he’ll continue playing beyond his current contract, which expires at season’s end, and he expounded on that difficult decision as part of an excellent Q&A with Jake Kaplan of The Athletic (subscription link). In a general sense, Morton explained that he feels at peace with his career and that his goals as a baseball player have “pretty much been fulfilled” — presumably a nod to last season’s World Series Championship (during which Morton pitched the final four innings of Game 7 and was credited with the win).

Morton didn’t rule out the possibility of continuing his career beyond the present season, though he came across as a player who’ll be quite selective in the offseason when weighing interest from teams in free agency.

“[I]t would be about the situation overall,” the right-hander said. “What’s the group like in the clubhouse? Where would I be? Would I be closer to [his wife’s] family (in Delaware) in a spot where she would prefer to be?” Morton goes on to list his own health and performance as additional determining factors in playing into 2019 and possibly beyond.

Though geography could be an important factor and the East coast sounds as if it’d hold appeal, Morton also plainly stated that he’d rather remain with the Astros than test the open market at season’s end. Morton describes the group of talent in Houston as “special” and adds: “…when you think about a team that you want to play for, a team like this is it.” At present, however, he added that he’s not aware of any extension talks between his agent and the Astros.

As Kaplan notes, Morton is rapidly pitching himself into qualifying offer territory, so the decision could be fairly straightfoward for both parties. A one-year deal at a premium rate — something north of this past season’s $17.4MM value — for the 2019 season would presumably be appealing to the Astros’ front office. Morton, meanwhile, would have the opportunity to remain where he’s comfortable on a deal that leaves him a window in the near future to walk away from the game and begin spending more time with his growing young family — something which he stressed on multiple occasions to be the most fulfilling part of his life. Certainly, it doesn’t sound as if he’ll be entertaining any long-term offers.

“It could be this year, next year, but I’m not going to keep playing for a long time,” said Morton of his eventual retirement. “I can promise you that. I’m not going to keep playing four, five, six, seven more years.”

Kaplan and Morton also discuss the right-hander’s improved velocity, some mechanical and training alterations, various high/low points of his career, his injury history, learning a new curveball grip from former teammate A.J. Burnett and some nicknames he’s accumulated over the course of his career in a terrific Q&A that is full of thoughtful, insightful answers from the right-hander.