Latest Charlie Morton update could force awkward Braves' decision for 2025
The 41-year-old has been an anchor in the Braves rotation for four seasons, but his decision to play in 2025 could make the Front Office's decision difficult.
On the day Charlie Morton turned 41, Jeff Passan of ESPN dropped the news in his offseason preview (subscription required) that the 17-year MLB veteran intends to pitch another season. The righty has been flirting with retirement for years, but it appears that 2025 isn't the year he plans to hang up the spikes.
While Braves insider Mark Bowman previously hinted at this, Passan is the first insider to state Morton's intentions explicitly.
Notably, @JeffPassan mentions in his piece today that Charlie Morton "intends to pitch next season at 41" and projects "a one-year deal with a contender."
— Brad Rowland (@BTRowland) November 12, 2024
Also mentions the Braves with Nick Pivetta.
We talked about a ton of starting pitching names on the most recent pod. https://t.co/GLlt9VrKXE
As a 40-year-old, Morton pitched 165.1 innings and had a 4.19 ERA, which was perfectly acceptable considering his role as the Braves fourth or fifth starter. After the season, Morton became a free agent.
While he's currently available to all teams, Morton has said he prefers to pitch only for a team close to his home in Florida, which practically eliminates every team that isn't the Rays, Marlins, or Braves.
While the veteran has provided important innings over the last few seasons, his effectiveness has diminished. With a promising rotation in store for 2025, it might be time for Atlanta to move on and use the available dollars elsewhere.
Alex Anthopoulos and the Braves should avoid signing Charlie Morton for 2025
When Morton signed his first of seemingly infinite one-year deals with the Braves, he was coming off his worst season since being reinvented by the Houston Astros.
However, 2021 proved that his 2020 was more of a shortened season fluke than signs of age decline. His average fastball velocity jumped back up to 95.5 MPH from 93.4. He had a 4.5 fWAR and was essentially the club's co-ace alongside Max Fried during the World Series run.
Since 2021, however, Morton has bounced between mediocre (2022 and 2024) and good (2023). His velocity has still been above his time with the Pirates, but his 2024 saw a decline in strikeouts and an increase in homers. In fact, his 23.8% strikeout rate was his lowest since he joined the Pirates in 2015. His 4.46 ERA was also his second-highest since 2015, with 2020's abbreviated season holding the worst spot.
While he was still good enough to pitch enough innings to pass the 2000 career strikeout plateau and while fans underrated his overall performance in 2024, re-signing Morton isn't in the best interest of the 2025 team.
The current outlook for the 2025 rotation is promising. Anchored by presumptive 2024 Cy Young winner Chris Sale, the club also has Spencer Schwellenbach, Reynaldo Lopez, and Spencer Strider, who's set to come back early in the 2025 season in their rotation.
The club could also be interested in reuniting with free agent Max Fried, although all signs point to him going elsewhere.
Additionally, the Braves have top prospects, such as AJ Smith-Shawver and Hurston Waldrep, waiting in the wings. These two prospects give the team flexibility in the back half of the rotation that Morton simply can't while also having a higher ceiling than the veteran.
Simply put, the rotation is already looking good. If the Braves were inclined to sign a free agent to bolster their rotation, they would be better off putting their money into a pitcher with a higher ceiling rather than using their money on Morton for the back of the rotation.
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