With as much young starting pitching as the Atlanta Braves have, they need to find a way to get veteran Charlie Morton to return.
For years the Atlanta Braves have been looking for a veteran presence to stabilize their young group of starting pitchers.
Julio Teheran was that guy at the end of the rebuild and even into their first division title in 2018 with this group. And he led the team in starts in 2019.
The Braves also brought in Dallas Keuchel in mid-season in 2019 and he was solid. I still think Snitker pulled him too early in Game 1 of the NLDS that year, but I digress.
Last year they brought in Cole Hamels and that was a disaster.
This season they went out early and signed Charlie Morton a one-year deal for $15 million. I think everyone at the time agreed it was a great signing with the postseason pedigree that Morton has established.
I was slightly critical of him early in the year because he wasn’t doing what the Braves signed him to do — settle things down and end long losing streaks.
But ever since I wrote that he’s been everything the Braves needed him to be and more. His ERA has dropped an entire point since that article was written in mid-June.
He’s also 7-2 in his decisions since a loss to the Marlins on June 11.
Overall, he has a 3.48 ERA in 158 innings pitched with 185 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.06.
And I know wins and losses don’t mean much in today’s analytical world, but he’s 13-5.
But looking at the advanced metrics, he has an xERA of 3.33 and XBA of just .215.
This does not seem like a guy who is slowing down in his age 37 season.
His curveball is one of the best in all of baseball and he’s throwing it 36 percent of the time, getting a Whiff% of 40.9 with batters hitting just .119 against that pitch.
It also ranks ninth in terms of horizontal movement breaking 16.6 inches.
The fastball velocity remains high at 95.5 MPH, which is even higher than it was last season.
Can the Braves Bring Him Back
There are serious questions about whether or not Morton will actually return next year. Despite the good numbers, if he feels compelled to hang it up and stay home with his family I believe he will.
The good thing for the Braves is there are really only two or three destination spots for Morton — Atlanta, Tampa, or Miami — in order for him to stay close to home.
Tampa already showed they weren’t willing to spend the money on him. Miami could be interesting as he’d actually be a great veteran for their own young stable of arms — I just wonder if they have the funds to spend on what will be a 38-year-old starting pitcher.
Speaking of funds, I think Morton would have to be pretty overwhelmed to come back. It likely takes at least another one-year, $15 million deal.
With as many arbitration and pre-arbitration eligible players as the Braves have, they can afford to bring him back. And I believe they certainly should.