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Charlie Morton is becoming Orioles' biggest 2025 regret
While plenty of things have gone wrong for the Baltimore Orioles through the first 21 games of the 2025 season, the offseason signing of starting pitcher Charlie Morton is standing out as one of the franchise's biggest blunders.
With his abbreviated start on Sunday against the Cincinnati Reds that lasted just 2.1 innings, the 41-year-old Morton now holds an ERA of 10.89 after giving up seven runs on seven hits and walking four. In each of Morton's five starts this season, the right-hander has surrendered four or more runs in each start while totaling just 17.1 innings during those outings.
Signed by the Orioles in January to a one-year, $15 million deal, Morton admitted he thought he might have thrown his last MLB pitch when he walked off the field on September 29 as a member of the Atlanta Braves. In retrospect, that gut feeling that it might have been an end to a 17-year MLB career might have been correct.
Part of the reason for Morton's shortcomings in 2025 has been his lack of an efficient curveball. Heading into Sunday's start against Cincinnati, opponents were slashing .435/.464/.870 (10-for-23) with two doubles, one triple, and two home runs off Morton's curveball this season. Compare that to the first five starts of last season when opposing batters slashed just .208/.300/.245 (11-for-53) with two extra-base hits against his curveball.
Certainly, Morton wasn't the only problem in a 24-2 shellacking by the Reds at Camden Yards on Sunday that dropped the Orioles to 9-12 on the season. Manager Brandon Hyde, who is on the hot seat in Baltimore, called the loss "embarrassing" after his pitchers gave up a combined 25 hits, including a historic performance from the bottom of the Cincinnati order.
The Cincinnati Reds’ historic day with their No.8-9 hitters of Noelvi Marte and Austin Wynns:
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) April 20, 2025
11-for-14
5 runs
2 doubles
3 HRs
13 RBI
Cincinnati 24, Baltimore 2.
While there is plenty of blame to go around in Baltimore right now, signing Morton in the hopes he could fill some of the void for the departed Corbin Burnes, who signed a six-year, $210 million deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks, may have been one of the biggest miscalculations in all of baseball this offseason.
More must-reads:
- Reds score 24 runs, destroy Orioles in series finale
- Watch: Reds' Elly De La Cruz continues to amaze vs. Orioles
- The 'AL and NL Rookie of the Year award winners since 2000' quiz
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Yankees Manager Aaron Boone Addresses Jasson Dominguez Benching
New York Yankees rookie outfielder Jasson Dominguez has been a breath of fresh air to the ballclub this year. Through 99 games, the 22-year-old has 84 hits, 50 runs scored, nine home runs, 37 RBIs and a .719 OPS in 332 at-bats. At this stage, every game is of utmost importance, and the Yankees are clinging to the final American League Wild Card spot, although the Cleveland Guardians are one game back entering Wednesday. On Wednesday, Dominguez was once again absent from the Yankees lineup, marking the third straight game he was on the bench. The decision by manager Aaron Boone to bench Dominguez again had fans raising eyebrows and showing their frustration on social media. Aaron Boone Speaks on Latest Benching Prior to Wednesday's game against the Minnesota Twins, Boone spoke about not playing Dominguez in the starting lineup for the third straight game. "J.D. is a big part of it. I know it's a few days he hasn't played. It's a little snapshot in a long season," Boone said, via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. The Yankees' starting outfield for the past few games has been Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham and Giancarlo Stanton, with Aaron Judge slotting in as the designated hitter. So, Wednesday marks the third straight game with the same outfield unit, and New York has won each of the last two games. Dominguez's last start was on Sunday in a 7-1 loss to the Houston Astros, and Dominguez only had two hitless at-bats before being replaced by Stanton. So, while fans are entirely happy about Dominguez riding the bench, the Yankees are winning games, in playoff contention, and still have a stellar group of outfielders. The Yankees begin a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals on the road on Friday, and it will be worth monitoring to see if Boone gives the rookie a start over the weekend.
One Crucial Element Holding Up Terry McLaurin's Commanders Contract
We are nearly at the end of training camp, and Washington Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin is still without his new deal. Given the Commanders know how valuable he is to Jayden Daniels and the offense, it does seem odd that the franchise, which hasn't had any significant bumps in the road since Dan Quinn took over, now has a big one, and one that can be avoided. With no movement on a contract, McLaurin pulled the trigger on a trade request weeks ago, but still no movement on a deal...and now we know why. Per ESPN's John Keim it isn't money that is holding up negotiations, it is something else entirely...and the Washington analytics department has a big say in it. “This likely remains the biggest sticking point because it frames the argument for Washington,” Keim wrote. “McLaurin will turn 30 on Sept. 15, which means he’d be 31 when an extension begins. The Commanders rely heavily on analytics, and the numbers aren’t kind to receivers at that age. According to ESPN Research, over the past five seasons only three receivers 31 years or older have played at least 10 games and averaged 70-plus receiving yards per game; six have averaged 60-plus.” So is Washington basing on whether or not to pay McLaurin is he age? It certainly seems like it. But there can be no denying that the Commanders' offense, without Terry, would be a shell of itself and would likely be missing a key ingredient that makes it a dangerous unit. Do we still think McLaurin and Washington will come to terms? Yes, but if age is a big sticking point, well, there's no changing that, and in truth, the franchise would have known this was coming down the pipeline, so if this was an issue, why not get out ahead of it and move on and get draft capital? Either way, this contract saga shows no signs of ending, but if there is a player who can buck the trend for aging receivers, it might just be Terry.
Cowboys fans won't like Jerry Jones' update on Micah Parsons standoff
With the regular season approaching, the Dallas Cowboys should be aiming to extend EDGE Micah Parsons promptly. But they're still in no rush to do that. Parsons is set to play on the fifth-year option of his rookie contract in 2025 and has requested a trade. Dallas insists it has no plans to move the 26-year-old pass-rusher but hasn't clarified when it will extend him. Giving him a new deal before the regular-season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 4 at 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC, Peacock) seems wise. Dallas owner Jerry Jones, however, said that's not the team's deadline, nor does it need one. "No, not at all," Jones said Wednesday, via Jonah Javad of WFAA-TV in Dallas. "You don't have deadlines when you're playing under contract." Parsons is under contract, but that doesn't mean he must suit up. The EDGE could hold out of regular-season games, like former Cowboys star running back Emmitt Smith did in 1993. The Pro Football Hall of Famer missed the first two games of the season before becoming the league's highest-paid RB at that time. Parsons hasn't said whether he would hold out of regular-season games, but it's apparent he's unhappy with where things stand. "My mouth is closed," Parsons said Wednesday while leaving the practice field in Oxnard, California, via Field Level Media. Jones didn't say if talks with Parsons would resume when the Cowboys return to Texas for their second preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens. The matchup is scheduled for Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. The owner still seems confident Parsons will play on the fifth-year option if Dallas doesn't sign him before the start of the regular season. "Again, all you've got to go on are contracts," Jones said. "We are negotiating for a contract. When you do a contract, you would hope that after a negotiation, that's what both the team and player look to see what our obligations are. I have a lot of respect for the contract." Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb played the last years of their rookie contracts. Perhaps Jones wants Parsons to do the same. Still, that would be silly. Paying the four-time Pro Bowler should be a no-brainer for the Cowboys, so they should stop wasting time and show him the money.
Bears O-line coach calls one player's preseason performance 'not acceptable'
Several members of the Chicago Bears had a banner day on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, improving their stock after Chicago's preseason tie with Miami. Most notably, Austin Booker and Noah Sewell combined to lead Chicago's defense to rule the day. Other players did not fare quite so well, including one fourth-year veteran, left tackle Braxton Jones. Jones is locked in a position battle for the starting left tackle spot with rookie Ozzy Trapilo and second-year player Kiran Amegadjie. As the incumbent starter he had the upper hand at the start of training camp. Now, his grip on the Bears' starting left tackle job may have slackened after a terrible performance on Sunday, which included one particularly bad rep. Luckily, quarterback Tyson Bagent threw a gorgeous touchdown pass on this play, but Jones getting beaten so quickly could have been disastrous. This was a 4th down play. Giving up a sack on 4th-and-goal in a close game is a good way to ensure a loss, and that's exactly what would have happened if Bagent had not thrown Maurice Alexander a toe-tapping touchdown in the back of the end zone. Now, Chicago's offensive line coach, Dan Roushar, has weighed in on Jones' performance, and he gave a blunt answer, calling it 'not acceptable'. You can hear his full remarks below. The honesty on display from Roushar is refreshing and serves two purposes. One, all the fans and analysts watched Jones play poorly on Sunday, so hearing his coach try to hem and haw his way around the truth would be seen as misleading. There was no sugarcoating the truth, and so Roushar answered honestly. Second, if you can trust a coach to be honest about the bad things, then you can trust that he's being honest when he sings his players' praises. For years, Bears fans have heard about this or that player having a great practice only to never see it on gameday. Clearly, someone was exaggerating or covering. But if Roushar is willing to call out a player's day as not acceptable, then you can trust that when he highlights a good day, such as Jones' performance in the joint practice, that he's giving his honest assessment. It's not all bad news for Jones, as Roushar makes clear. He first built Jones up by saying that he looked really good in last Friday's joint practice, saying that Jones looked like a guy 'that we can win with'. So the potential to be a good starting left tackle is still there. Jones just needs to make sure it shows up consistently on game day.
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