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Trade Candidate: Charlie Morton

By Anthony Franco | July 15, 2025 at 10:35pm CDT

Charlie Morton’s time with the Orioles couldn’t have begun much worse. He started his first five appearances and lost all of them. His best outing in that stretch was a five-inning start in which he recorded 10 strikeouts but allowed five runs. By the end of April, he’d lost his rotation spot. He carried a 9.45 earned run average with nearly as many walks (21) as strikeouts (26) through 26 2/3 innings.

Morton spent the next three weeks working out of the bullpen. He allowed eight runs (seven earned) over 16 1/3 innings across six appearances. It was better than his early-season production but wasn’t a full-fledged turnaround. Injuries reopened a rotation spot at the end of May.

The 41-year-old Morton has seized the new starting opportunity. He has allowed two or fewer runs in six of his past eight starts. Over that stretch, he carries a 2.76 ERA. Morton has fanned more than a quarter of opponents with a vastly improved 7.5% walk rate. His 12.4% swinging strike percentage during that time is a top 30 mark in MLB. Morton’s fastball has gained some life. The heater averaged 93.7 MPH in April but has climbed to 94.4 MPH since the beginning of June.

Morton’s April struggles still leave him with a 5.18 ERA on the season. Yet he’s coming up on two months of the mid-rotation form he showed throughout his time with the Braves. This version of Morton is the pitcher the Orioles expected when they signed him to a $15MM free agent contract.

It’s an important development with two weeks until the deadline. Morton has quietly reemerged as an intriguing trade chip for a Baltimore team that is nine games below .500. As recently as six weeks ago, he seemed closer to a DFA candidate than a trade asset. He’s now probably the most appealing of Baltimore’s three impending free agent starting pitchers.

Zach Eflin has struggled since his suffering a lat strain in mid-April. He’s on the injured list with a lower back strain, though it seems likely he’ll return to make a start or two before July 31. Tomoyuki Sugano has a 6.62 ERA in seven starts since the beginning of June. Opposing hitters have a .327/.380/.520 slash line in that time. Sugano has a 14% strikeout rate and has allowed 1.72 homers per nine innings on the season. The O’s are going to have a difficult time drumming up interest.

Morton is owed a little more than $6MM the rest of the way. That’ll drop to roughly $4.75MM from the deadline through season’s end. That’s a decent sum for two months, but it’s reasonable if an acquiring team feels he’s back to being a playoff-caliber starter. Baltimore is going to get plenty of calls on All-Star slugger Ryan O’Hearn in the next couple weeks. Morton is pulling alongside Cedric Mullins and relievers Seranthony Domínguez and Gregory Soto in their next tier of rental trade candidates.

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Baltimore Orioles MLBTR Originals Charlie Morton

Shintaro Fujinami Signs With NPB’s Yokohama DeNA BayStars
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Trade Deadline Outlook: Cincinnati Reds
View Comments (50)
Post a Comment

50 Comments

  1. sad tormented neglected mariners fan

    2 months ago

    I could see him as a desperation move to the braves because Anthopoulous loves bringing old guys back

    6
    Reply
    • Soto should bat first.

      1 month ago

      They don’t have $5 million.
      They also don’t have much of a farm system.
      I don’t see this happening.

      Reply
      • sad tormented neglected mariners fan

        1 month ago

        They could offload a reliever or any salary matching player in return

        Reply
      • bhambrave

        1 month ago

        According to Cot’s, the Braves are $6,366,546 below the threshold. Not saying they would or should get Charlie, but they have the room.

        Reply
  2. scruffmcgruff

    2 months ago

    I mean if you can get anything of value for him then by all means make a deal. Even if my O’s pull off some sort of miracle and end up in the playoff picture, you’re going nowhere with the state of the rotation right now. Kremer has pitched very well recently and Trevor Rogers has been absolutely dominant. But you are going to need way more quality depth than that for a postseason run.

    3
    Reply
    • yeasties

      2 months ago

      I’m really confused by this. You are saying that Morton should be traded because he’s not good enough for the Orioles’ playoff roster?

      3
      Reply
      • scruffmcgruff

        2 months ago

        I’m saying that if by some miracle we even sniff the playoffs, we’re not going anywhere with our rotation. So I’m of the opinion that we should be selling all of the immediately expendable pieces.

        6
        Reply
        • Dock_Elvis

          1 month ago

          Your rotation will have to improve immensely for that to happen. They should try and deal for some cost control now

          1
          Reply
  3. twozero6ix

    2 months ago

    Trade him to Colorado

    1
    Reply
    • DarrenDreifortsContract

      2 months ago

      His ERA looks like he’s already pitching in Colorado.

      13
      Reply
  4. ThatsIT?

    2 months ago

    If he’s cheap enough like the orioles covering most of his salary I can see the Yankees taking him on. They’ve got a lot of holes to fill and over the tax so I think Cashman is going to be looking for bargains.

    Reply
    • Ziskmania

      1 month ago

      Yes, I am sure the Orioles would love to help the Yanks out.

      5
      Reply
      • ThatsIT?

        1 month ago

        If they get an interesting arm who’s ready for the big leagues in 2026 yes they definitely would be interested in that I bet.

        3
        Reply
        • pohle

          1 month ago

          schlitter should net them merrill kelly at least, more than morton, but yanks dont have very many other pitchers made for the bigs now… could be hard to find a deal in the division

          Reply
      • JRamHOF

        1 month ago

        Well they did align on the Zack Britton trade a while back

        Reply
    • Wrian Washman

      1 month ago

      Yankees interested in a 41 year old starter and 40 year old reliever in Robertson boy some things never change. Maybe they’ll be in the market for 39 year old 1B Santana. Matter of fact maybe they can bring Jeter out of retirement. What’s with this team and hiring geriatric nursing home facility patients?

      Reply
      • MacGromit

        1 month ago

        @Wrian
        BOTH old guys would be an improvement for the Yanks Now that’s the sad part.

        Reply
    • Ok Yankees Fan

      1 month ago

      Dumpster diving Trashman would jump at a deal for a Single A prospect.

      Reply
  5. DirtyDavis

    1 month ago

    Charlie is a reliable arm with playoff experience. Good mentor for younger guys at this point. Teams could def do worse even with the “higher” salary. Dodgers would just “Defer” it.

    Reply
    • Soto should bat first.

      1 month ago

      The Dodgers would rewrite his contract mid-season. This is a new concept for trading. 4-D chess by Friedman.

      1
      Reply
      • BlueSkies_LA

        1 month ago

        Uh, what?

        Reply
  6. آلي مكبيل_.._.بيتزا بيبيروني آشتون كوتشر

    1 month ago

    When are they doing a Trade Candidate Paul Skenes?

    Reply
    • Logjammer D'Baggagecling

      1 month ago

      July 2028

      1
      Reply
      • آلي مكبيل_.._.بيتزا بيبيروني آشتون كوتشر

        1 month ago

        Got to do that salary dump. Should be sometime this week.

        Reply
        • Logjammer D'Baggagecling

          1 month ago

          Yes this week in the year 2028. At this point he will have 1 more year of team control

          Reply
  7. raisinsss

    1 month ago

    This will be my last visit to MLBTR.

    The ads are simply intolerable.

    Do better.

    3
    Reply
    • JRamHOF

      1 month ago

      You could have just left without announcing it

      13
      Reply
    • gorav114

      1 month ago

      My favorite is when you type out a really long comment then switch tabs to verify spelling, stats, etc and when you go back, its an ad. After the ad you are on a comment less post and have to navigate back to find your started comment no longer exist. Frustrating

      3
      Reply
      • bhambrave

        1 month ago

        Try a second browser.

        Reply
        • bhambrave

          1 month ago

          Or copy your comment. If it goes away, you can paste it back in again.

          1
          Reply
        • gorav114

          1 month ago

          That’s what I do now. Just took awhile to remember each time

          Reply
    • stymeedone

      1 month ago

      Subscribers don’t have that problem, I hear.

      6
      Reply
      • rondon

        1 month ago

        Duh.

        Reply
    • sorengo99

      1 month ago

      Go talk to Abe Lincoln about your demands for free labor.

      Reply
  8. Braves20

    1 month ago

    No, a company, any company, wants to know why they are losing customers. And the writer is correct – the site has become a mountain of ads and firewalls.

    1
    Reply
    • bhambrave

      1 month ago

      $2.99 per month or $29.89 per year would solve that.

      5
      Reply
      • rondon

        1 month ago

        It’s amazing to me how people can be so “outraged” over something they get for free.

        5
        Reply
        • BlueSkies_LA

          1 month ago

          For those who don’t subscribe, the site derives income from selling ads. Any business site has to keep those customers coming back, too. Annoy them with too many ads, and they will spend less time looking at your content.

          FWIW, I haven’t subscribed not because I think it costs too much, but because I feel like I already spend enough time here (and quite a few of the paywalled articles don’t interest me that much).

          1
          Reply
        • Braves20

          1 month ago

          Quite right. And there are a simple ways to furnish the paid content only to subscribers and avoid the needless clutter (partial articles) for non subscribers. The ads, most people ignore but the partial articles just clutter things up. ..

          1
          Reply
    • The Saber-toothed Superfife

      1 month ago

      Well, if my neighbor buys a green John-Deere and drives by me with a stupid smirk on his face…..

      …..we’ll both be in trouble, although I do live in a “mutual combat” state …..

      Reply
  9. saj

    1 month ago

    Mullins will probably turn down a QO. Likewise eflin. Elias loves comp picks. He used 30-40 picks to get Westburg, Gunnar, avg guy Norby, 900 AAA ops Beavers, 2 whiffs. That’s 2x or 3x the value.

    He won’t trade anyone who can get a comp pick for him.

    Reply
    • bhambrave

      1 month ago

      Mullins would (should) jump at a QO.

      1
      Reply
    • niched

      1 month ago

      No way the Os offer Mullins a comp pick. I’m a big Mullins fan but his numbers went cold a month into the season. He gets hot occasionally but as much as I’d like to see Mullins stick with the Os he’s not getting a QO unless he goes on an epic offensive tear to end the season.

      1
      Reply
  10. Arnold Ziffel

    1 month ago

    Why would anyone want him? He is kaput.

    Reply
    • jdgoat

      1 month ago

      He been pretty good over the past month. He might be useful as a long man/spot starter for a few teams. Especially if you don’t have to give up anything for taking on the salary.

      Reply
      • niched

        1 month ago

        He’s been very good for a couple months. The only reason the Os are keeping things kind of interesting is because Morton and Rogers have pitched very well lately.

        Reply
  11. jdgoat

    1 month ago

    I don’t think Mullins will get a QO, and if he does I’d be pretty surprised to see him decline it unless he has a hot stretch in him.

    3
    Reply
  12. CarlosDelgado

    1 month ago

    Going out and getting Morton at the deadline is similar to boarding a flight in India.. it’s just going to end disastrously.. which is why a lesser fringer type contender will more likely be his suitor if traded

    Reply
  13. bwmiller79

    1 month ago

    He is a good fit for the Padres.

    Reply
  14. MLBTR needs to hire editors

    4 weeks ago

    Was this supposed to be part of a series? This 7 paragraph article is weird, and apparently an orphan. Why even bother writing a trade candidate series if you’re only doing one?

    Reply

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