SP Charlie Morton Speaks Out on Braves Exit

The Atlanta Braves entered this offseason with a hole in their starting rotation. So, when right-hander Charlie Morton expressed an interest in returning for the 2025 season, it seemed like a no-brainer he would be back in Atlanta.

After beginning his career with the Braves, Morton returned to Atlanta in 2021. He was part of the team's championship roster that season and had pitched the past four seasons with the Braves.

But in 2025, he will start games for the Baltimore Orioles. The Athletic's David O'Brien reported the Braves didn't make Morton an offer for him to return this year.

Morton shared with O'Brien that he doesn't exactly know why.

“I consider Alex [Anthopoulos] a friend, and I don’t know what they’re going through,” Morton said. “I don’t know what they’re up against or what their goals are in terms of their roster. And I don’t take anything personally. I’ll always care about everyone in that clubhouse and all the guys that I spent the last four years with.

“I get the business side of things and there’s things that can’t be said and divulged, and people would never say to me because it’s not their obligation to do that. I don’t have a right, and I don’t need to know what happened. I think going into the offseason, having been a Brave for the past four years and having gone through a lot with the guys in the clubhouse and in the top-to-bottom organization, you feel like you belong. You feel like you’re part of a larger family.”

Morton, who O'Brien described as hoping to end his career with the Braves, called the past four seasons in Atlanta "extremely special."

The right-hander signed a 1-year, $15 million contract to join the Orioles this offseason. That's $5 million less than what the Braves paid him in 2024.

If one had to guess, age was the top reason the Braves didn't make Morton an offer. He turned 41 years old in November, but he was still effective during his age-40 season.

In 2024, he posted an 8-10 record with a 4.19 ERA, 1.325 WHIP and 167 strikeouts in 165.1 innings.

The Braves haven't signed any notable starting pitchers this offseason to replace Morton or fellow free agent departure Max Fried. That makes Atlanta's lack of interest in Morton even more surprising.

I speculated early in the offseason that perhaps the Braves were waiting to re-sign Morton for a bargain contract. But that doesn't appear to be the case since the organization made no offer to the right-hander at all.

Morton departs Atlanta with a 49-42 record and 4.09 ERA in 140 regular season appearances. He also submitted a 1.286 WHIP and 819 strikeouts in 761 innings across five seasons.

Over his 17-year MLB career, Morton has only thrown more innings and spent more seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In 2025, he will pitch for his sixth MLB organization. Morton has also played for the Houston Astros, Tampa Bay Rays and Philadelphia Phillies.