Braves old friend Charlie Morton garnering trade interest ahead of deadline

The Braves might have a quieter trade deadline than in years past, but they will be sellers for the first time in nearly a decade.

Raisel Iglesias, Marcell Ozuna, Pierce Johnson, and Aaron Bummer are the obvious trade candidates, with a report from Hector Gomez saying that a deal with the Padres for Ozuna could soon come to fruition.

But Braves fans will have some other interesting storylines to watch at this year’s deadline, including an old friend on the move. According to multiple reports, Charlie Morton, who signed with the Orioles this past offseason, is garnering plenty of trade interest.

“Teams love Charlie Morton — who has a very positive postseason history and who’s been solid following a slow start — and he’s drawing a lot of interest on the trade market. Many teams inquiring,” the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reported Tuesday.

The 41-year-old is sporting an ugly 5.58 ERA across 21 appearances, 15 of which are starts. To say Morton began the year slowly would be an understatement. It looked like he’d waited a year too late to retire, but he’s had a resurgence over his last 12 appearances, boasting a 3.47 ERA and suddenly becoming a hot commodity at the deadline.

The 18-year-old veteran has plenty of postseason experience, is only making $15 million, and is on an expiring deal. There will be plenty of suitors, per Buster Olney.

“It seems very likely that Charlie Morton (3.47 ERA last 12 appearances) will be traded, within a relatively thin starting pitching market with a lot of teams looking for rotation help — the Padres, Yankees, maybe the Mets or Astros; a number of teams have expressed interest,” ESPN’s Buster Olney wrote Tuesday.

In a different reality, the Braves would be buyers at the trade deadline and likely looking for a back-of-the-rotation starter, which would make a Charlie Morton trade quite enticing. Unfortunately, that reunion isn’t even remotely in the realm of possibilities because the Braves have had one of the most disappointing campaigns in franchise history. Hopefully, Uncle Chuck has one last chance to pitch for a championship.