Braves Country is understandably anxious as rivals around the league make blockbuster moves.
The Mets set a record by signing Juan Soto to a $765 million deal. The Dodgers continue to pour money into a roster fresh off a World Series, inking Blake Snell to a lucrative free agent contract. The Rangers re-signed Nathan Eovaldi, and Garrett Crochet is off the market, with the White Six striking a deal with the Red Sox.
Meanwhile, Alex Anthopoulos remains dormant. However, there’s good reason why the Braves are off to a slow start this winter — inflation.
The entire MLB offseason market is going bananas, but none more than the market for starting pitching. The Braves need a starting pitcher; however, there’s no reason why Luis Severino, Matthew Boyd, or Frankie Montas should’ve garnered the free agent deals that they did. It’s just a reality that Anthopoulos has to deal with.
That reality will yield an inevitable free agent signing. Given all of the circumstances, I feel confident enough to predict the Braves will sign Charlie Morton to another one-year contract.
Following the Braves season, it was a possibility that Morton would sail into the sunset of retirement, but a report from Mark Bowman suggested he was leaning towards pitching again in 2025.
“There was also an assumption that Morton would retire, but the hurler, who will turn 41 on Nov. 12, is leaning toward pitching at least one more season,” Mark Bowman writes for MLB.com.
Jeff Passan confirmed that Uncle Chuck “intends” to pitch in his age 41 season.
“Charlie Morton, right-hander: He intends to pitch next season at 41 and remains a reliable innings eater with strikeout ability. He’ll get a one-year deal with a contender,” Passan wrote for ESPN.
Some Braves fans don’t love the idea of Charlie Morton returning to Atlanta, but for $10-15 million, which is what Bowman predicted, I’m all for it. Is he going to be a frontline starter like he was when he first came to town? Of course not, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a void that he can fill.
The back of the rotation needs bolstering. Spencer Strider is expected to miss some time in 2025; however, he will be back at some point, and all the Braves have to do is bridge the gap between Opening Day and Strider’s return. A rotation of Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach, Reynaldo Lopez, and Charlie Morton is as formidable as they come.
Strider’s absence will also provide Atlanta an opportunity to get an extended look at Grant Holmes, A.J. Smith-Shawver, Ian Anderson, and/or Hurston Waldrep as potential unexpected contributors for the Braves this season. The rotation isn’t in as dire need of bolstering as some fans believe it to be.
Bringing Morton, who has never pitched fewer than 160 innings since signing with the Braves in 2021, back into the fold should be seen as a positive. Though he finished with a less-than-stellar 4.19 ERA last year, his durability and wisdom are ultra-valuable.
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