Alex Anthopoulos was noticeably quiet this winter much to the displeasure of fans. Most urgently wanted Anthopoulos to add some pitching to either the rotation or the bullpen so that the team could navigate the 162 game marathon. Braves fans have watched more Bryce Elder starts than they anticipated coming into the 2025 season because of injuries to the rotation.
Despite the shaky pitching the Braves have found a way to stack up some wins recently. As the club turns the page to May, Anthopoulos will likely continue hunting arms that can give them any innings at all. It's why they picked up old friend Ian Anderson to serve as insurance while the team was in Colorado.
Because the team has been so happy to reunite with former players recently, some fans have eyed a struggling Charlie Morton as a potential arm to bring back. Unfortunately, that idea is one the Braves front office needs to avoid like the plague.
Any reunion with Charlie Morton is a disaster waiting to happen for the Braves
Old friend Charlie Morton has been one of the worst pitchers in baseball to begin the 2025 season. His outings got so bad that the Orioles were forced to transition him to the bullpen. The numbers are really ugly: 9.45 ERA, 6.53 FIP, 2.18 WHIP, and -1.1 bWAR. Morton leads all of baseball with 28 earned runs allowed and 21 walks issued.
He can still spin a curveball and his fastball is just under league average in terms of velocity, but nothing about his batted ball profile suggest the 41 year-old pitcher is due for better results. Sadly, Morton's performance has given every indication that a previous offseason retirement may have been the better call. Baltimore doesn't have the luxury of cutting bait before April though. They gave Charlie $15 million to pitch for them, so they have to stick it out and hope he can provide some value.
However, should Morton continue to struggle, he could be DFA'd before the All-Star break. The Braves are pretty desperate for pitching, and adding a real starter could also help out the bullpen as a result. The sad thing is that Morton is no longer the answer at this point in his career.