FootyChatter.com

MLB ATLANTA — Whether or not Charlie Morton pitches in a game this week for the Atlanta Braves is beside the point. The Braves didn’t sign the 41-year-old pitcher on Monday after he was released by the Detroit Tigers, hoping Morton could win a game in the last week before the season ends and the Braves part ways for winter, having failed to land a postseason berth for the first time since 2017. Advertisement No, they signed Morton because of what he did in the 2021 postseason, when a line drive fractured his right leg in the second inning of the series opener and Morton stayed in to face three more batters anyway, setting the tone for that Game 1 win and Atlanta’s first World Series championship since 1995. They signed him for everything else he meant to the organization over four seasons through 2024. Because he was the epitome of professionalism both on the field, where he was the only Brave to make 30 or more starts each of those four seasons and led the team in innings (686 1/3) and strikeouts (771) in that span, and in the clubhouse. Will he get in a game this week? Or be introduced and doff his cap to Truist Park fans? “We don’t really have a plan, ” Braves manager Brian Snitker said Monday, after learning earlier in the day that the Braves had signed Morton and that he’ll join the team Tuesday. “We just got him back. So, I don’t know what that plan will be. I talked to him actually Saturday afternoon before batting practice (at Detroit), and this wasn’t even on the radar. “So we’ll kind of go over that once we get in there and talk to him. ” It wasn’t on the radar at the time because Morton had yet to be designated for assignment by the Tigers. That happened Sunday, and the Braves signed him after he cleared waivers and was released. It’s an inexpensive move — the Braves only pay a prorated portion (one week) of the MLB minimum $760, 000 salary — but a gesture that means plenty to the team, to many of its fans, and to Morton, who was moved by the offer from Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos. Morton, as thoughtful and amiable as any player who’s graced a clubhouse, always loved to talk baseball and life with Braves teammates young and old. He made a profound impact on the likes of Spencer Strider, who fought back emotions earlier this season when asked what Morton meant to him, and said he wished “Ground Chuck” was still a Brave. Advertisement Now he is, if only for five games. Morton, who’ll be 42 in November, hasn’t said if he’s retiring, but this move certainly suggests that’s how he’s leaning, if he hasn’t already decided. This would give him the opportunity to finish his career where it began — with the team that drafted him as a Connecticut high schooler in 2002. The Braves traded him in 2009, after he’d struggled as a rookie the previous season, and brought him back 12 years later as a seasoned pro whose career hadn’t really taken off until his 30s, after injuries and adjustments that Morton made along the way. Morton became a postseason star with the Houston Astros during their 2017 World Series championship run. He won three playoff games for the AL pennant-winning Tampa Bay Rays in 2020, then posted a 3. 24 ERA in four starts in the 2021 postseason for Atlanta, including that tougher-than-tough Game 1 effort that teammates and Braves fans will never forget. If there are any plans to use Morton in a game this week, it would presumably come in the season-ending series that starts Friday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Coincidentally, Morton had his first MLB success with Pittsburgh after the Braves traded him there during the 2009 season. Morton spent parts of seven seasons with the Pirates, his longest stint with any team. However, it was with the Braves that he had his greatest sustained success and impacted the most people. Simply put, Morton was one of the most beloved Braves of the past decade, both among teammates and fans. Always thoughtful with reporters and in his interactions with fans, he had the air of someone who appreciated every moment in a big-league uniform and understood the importance with which others viewed him. He tried to live up to the platform he and other players are given. He hated to disappoint anyone and always tried hard not to, on and off the field. Advertisement The Braves, after paying Morton $15 million in 2021 and $20 million each of the next three seasons, didn’t try to re-sign him last winter, believing they had enough rotation depth and that their funds could be better allocated to fill other needs. Though Morton had still been a big contributor for them in 2024, he had finally begun to show some signs of age, his innings total and strikeout rating dipping a bit and his ERA climbing a little. As things turned out, they certainly could have used him this season when the Braves’ entire Opening Day rotation got hurt, with all five pitchers on the 60-day injured list together at one point before Chris Sale returned from a 10-week absence for broken ribs. Sale, the 2024 NL Cy Young Award winner, struggled briefly at the beginning of the season, then returned to dominant form after he, like Morton, made adjustments. Sale picked up where he left off since returning from the IL. The left-hander had a 1. 37 ERA in his past 14 starts before Monday night, when Sale faced the Washington Nationals in a series opener at Truist Park with Atlanta riding a season-high eight-game winning streak. Like Strider, the 37-year-old Sale speaks in glowing terms of Morton. Total respect for one another. Sale treasured spending a year as his teammate in 2024, and now, once again, if only for the final days of the season. Morton pondered retirement last winter, as he’d done several times before, but the Orioles offered him $15 million and Morton decided to give it another go. Baltimore was expected to be a playoff contender, and the Orioles, like the Braves, trained close enough for him to commute daily during spring training from Bradenton, where Morton makes his home with wife Cindy and their four young children. It seemed like a good fit. However, the Orioles, like the Braves, struggled early. Struggled mightily. So did Morton, who was 0-5 with a 10. 89 ERA after five starts and lost his rotation spot. Then, after working on his curveball and other issues while pitching out of the Orioles bullpen for a few weeks, Morton moved back into the rotation and went 7-1 with a 3. 88 ERA in his next 11 starts before the trade to Detroit. Advertisement The Tigers, who had baseball’s best record not long ago, have spiraled since late August, blowing a double-digit lead in the AL Central. Morton had a 7. 09 ERA in nine starts for Detroit before being DFA’d. As fate would have it, his last and worst outing for the Tigers was Friday against the Braves, who touched him up for six runs in just 1 1/3 innings. Now, he’ll be back in a Braves uniform. And whether he pitches or not, Morton will get a chance to spend time with former teammates. To talk baseball and life, and to share a moment with fans at Truist Park, who might have a chance to send Morton off into retirement on a high note, one of warmth and appreciation. (Photo: Duane Burleson / Getty Images) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle David O'Brien is a senior writer covering the Atlanta Braves for The Athletic. He previously covered the Braves for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and covered the Marlins for eight seasons, including the 1997 World Series championship. He is a two-time winner of the NSMA Georgia Sportswriter of the Year award. Follow David on Twitter @DOBrien ATL