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Charlie Morton

Braves Extend Charlie Morton

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The Braves announced Monday that they’ve signed right-hander Charlie Morton to a one-year contract worth $20MM. (The Braves are one of the few teams who formally disclose the terms of their player contracts themselves.) The Jet Sports client also has a $20MM club option for the 2023 season that does not have a buyout.

Charlie Morton | Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Morton had somewhat of a slow start in his return to the Braves organization, pitching to a 5.08 ERA through his first eight starts of the season. He’s been lights-out ever since, however, working to a combined 2.95 ERA with a terrific 29.9 percent strikeout rate and a strong 7.4 percent walk rate over his past 20 starts — a total of 119 innings pitched. Overall, Morton has a 3.47 ERA in 158 frames with the Braves thus far in 2021.

This is the second go-around in Atlanta for Morton, whom the Braves selected with their third-round pick nearly two decades ago in 2002. He made his big league debut as a Brave in 2008 but was traded to the Pirates in the June 2009 swap that brought outfielder Nate McLouth to Atlanta. Morton would settle in as a mid-rotation starter in Pittsburgh, but a velocity spike in a very brief four-game stint with the Phillies — he missed the rest of the year with a torn hamstring — set the stage for him to land in Houston. With the Astros, Morton maintained that velocity bump and leaned more heavily into his four-seamer and curveball, at the expense of his sinker.

Morton broke out as one of the game’s best starters with the Astros, parlaying a brilliant two-year stint there into a two-year, $30MM contract with the Rays. He’d finish third in American League Cy Young voting and play a major role in the Rays’ postseason bid that year before some arm trouble brought about a slow start in 2020. Morton righted the ship in the season’s final couple weeks, however, and looked to be back to his dominant ways for much of the Rays’ 2020 run to the World Series.

Morton was a coveted free agent this offseason but had a small selection of teams he was willing to consider. Playing with the Rays afforded him the opportunity to live in his Bradenton, Fla. home, and Morton was reportedly very intent on remaining in the southeast to be near his family. His one-year deal with the Braves underscored that preference, as does today’s decision to forgo the open market entirely in favor of another one-year pact in a setting where he’s obviously quite comfortable.

With this deal in place, the Braves have now extended a pair of veterans in advance of free agency. Catcher Travis d’Arnaud inked a two-year, $16MM contract a couple weeks back, giving the club some stability behind the dish (as well as a potential bridge to William Contreras and/or Shea Langeliers).

Having Morton and d’Arnaud locked up for 2022 gives the Braves a total of $77MM committed to six players next season, although the status of Marcell Ozuna and his $16MM salary remain to be determined. The Braves also have option buyouts to pay to Joc Pederson, Adam Duvall, Josh Tomlin and the already-released Ender Inciarte.

The Braves opened the 2021 season with a payroll of $131MM, so there’s plenty of room for them to further add to that $77MM in guarantees this coming winter. Presumably, some of those funds are earmarked for what the team and its fanbase hope will be a long-term extension for franchise cornerstone Freddie Freeman. That they’ve been able to secure new deals with d’Arnaud and Morton shows the Braves are more than comfortable having these discussions not only in-season but in the midst of a playoff race, so perhaps they’ll yet aim to strike up a new deal with Freeman before he ever formally reaches the market.

For now, the certainty with Morton means they’ll be able to count on the return of a veteran who has blossomed into one of the game’s most steadily productive arms late in his career. Morton can be penciled into the 2022 rotation alongside lefty Max Fried, right-hander Ian Anderson and, hopefully, oft-injured righty Mike Soroka. Still just 24 years old, Soroka broke out as one of the game’s most talented young starters in 2019 but has only pitched 13 2/3 innings since that time after tearing his Achilles tendon on two occasions. Soroka isn’t expected to be ready for the beginning of the 2022 campaign, however, so it stands to reason that the Braves could look for some additional rotation help this winter even with Morton now locked into a return.

2021-22 Qualifying Offer Candidates

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With the trade deadline in the rearview mirror and a little more than six weeks remaining in the regular season, plenty of front offices are turning their attention towards the upcoming offseason. The first notable decision for many clubs will be to decide whether to tag one or more of their top impending free agents with a qualifying offer.

As a reminder, the qualifying offer is a one-year contract offer teams can make to certain impending free agents. The precise value of the QO has yet to be calculated, but it’s determined as the average salary of the game’s 125 highest-paid players. Last season, the QO value was set at $18.9MM. If the player accepts the offer, he returns to his current team on that one-year deal. If he rejects, his previous team would receive draft pick compensation should he sign elsewhere.

Last season, six players (George Springer, Trevor Bauer, J.T. Realmuto, DJ LeMahieu, Kevin Gausman and Marcus Stroman) received qualifying offers. Gausman and Stroman accepted the QO, while Realmuto and LeMahieu re-signed with their current clubs as free agents. The Reds and Astros received compensatory picks (used on Jay Allen and Chayce McDermott, respectively) when Bauer and Springer departed.

The collective bargaining agreement prohibits a player from being tagged with a qualifying offer multiple times in his career. (A list of every active big leaguer who has previously received a QO is available here). Similarly, in order to be eligible, the player must have spent the entire preceding season on the same team. Players traded midseason cannot be tagged with a QO.

With the majority of the 2021 season in the books, we can take a look at the upcoming free agent class to predict which players might wind up receiving qualifying offer this winter.

Locks

This group is fairly straightforward, as there’s very little chance any of these players would accept a qualifying offer. Correa, Seager and Freeman all have MVP-caliber upside and are locks to pull in long-term deals this winter. Semien didn’t receive a QO from the A’s after a down year in 2020, took a pillow contract with the Jays for almost the value of the QO ($18MM), and has essentially replicated his 2019 form that earned him a third place finish in AL MVP voting. He should find a big multi-year deal this time around.

Story is having a bit of a down year, but there’s no doubt the Rockies will make him a qualifying offer after not trading him at the deadline. Nick Groke of the Athletic wrote this week that Colorado hasn’t given up hope of convincing him to sign a long-term extension, but that seems unlikely given Story’s own bewilderment he wasn’t moved to a contender this summer. Whether Story is willing to return to Denver or not, he’ll receive a QO.

Kershaw, Ray and Rodón will be among the top pitchers on the market. Kershaw has spent the past couple months on the injured list due to forearm soreness, but he’s expected back in September and is in the midst of another fantastic season. So long as he’s healthy, he’s a lock for a QO. Ray and Rodón both had to settle for one-year deals after poor 2020 seasons, but they’ve each been among the best pitchers in the American League this year.

Likely

Over the past two seasons, Taylor has somewhat quietly been one of the game’s top 25 qualified hitters by measure of wRC+ and he’s versatile enough to cover any non-catcher position on the diamond. He’s not a true everyday player at any one spot and he’s making contact at a career-worst rate this season, so he falls just short of being an absolute lock for a QO. But the Dodgers would be as willing as any team to shoulder a significant one-year salary were Taylor to accept, and his body of work should be sufficient to warrant a multi-year deal regardless.

The Mets’ players in this group are two of the more interesting free agents in the class. Conforto entered the season looking like a lock for a QO and seemingly having a chance at landing nine figures with a strong platform year. He missed a month with injury, though, and hasn’t made anywhere near his typical level of impact at the plate. He’s shown some life over the past few weeks, and between his track record and age (28), Conforto still seems a good bet to land a long-term deal.

Syndergaard was a top-of-the-rotation starter at his peak, but he hasn’t pitched since 2019 because of Tommy John surgery. He’s eyeing a September return — likely in relief, given his dwindling time to build up arm strength — and his late-season form will obviously be critical to his market. The Mets should run one of the higher payrolls in the league, and Syndergaard has the upside to be an ace if healthy, so New York still seems more likely than not to make the offer.

Similarly, Verlander has essentially missed two full seasons because of his own Tommy John procedure. That’s a scary development for a pitcher who’ll be 39 on Opening Day 2022, but he was still every bit an ace when we last saw him in 2018-19. The Astros are a win-now club that runs high payrolls, so Verlander accepting a QO wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. If he declines and signs elsewhere, Houston would recoup some much-needed draft compensation after losing their past two first-round picks as punishment for the sign-stealing scandal.

Colorado reportedly showed even less interest in trading Gray than they did with Story at the deadline. There’s apparently mutual interest about working out a multi-year extension, and the QO could serve as a temporary measure to keep Gray in Denver while the Rockies and Gray’s representatives work on a long-term deal.

Rodríguez has bounced back to take the ball every fifth day this year after a scary bout with myocarditis cost him all of 2020. His ERA’s pushing 5.00, but his peripherals are far better than that bottom line run prevention and the southpaw has an established track record of mid-rotation production.

The Mariners are facing a difficult decision regarding Kikuchi, as MLBTR’s Steve Adams explored last month. Seattle must decide whether to exercise a package deal of four successive club options at $16.5MM apiece (essentially a four-year, $66MM extension) this winter. If the Mariners don’t exercise their four-year option, Kikuchi has a $13MM player option to return to Seattle for 2022. If both parties decline their ends, the 30-year-old would hit free agency this offseason, although the M’s could then tag Kikuchi with a qualifying offer.

Given that Kikuchi will only be a free agent if he passes on a $13MM player option, the Mariners would likely make him a QO worth a few million dollars more if it comes to that — either with the expectation he’ll decline in search of a longer-term deal, or with the hope he accepts and Seattle can keep him in the fold next season without committing themselves to the additional three years of guaranteed money.

Possible

The Giants have plenty of payroll space this offseason and seem likely to try to keep most of this season’s core together. Belt has been one of the sport’s most productive offensive players on a rate basis over the past two years. But he’s also 33 years old, has a long injury history and is striking out at the highest rate of his career.

San Francisco bought low on DeSclafani over the winter after he had a tough 2020 season with the Reds. He’s bounced back to post a very strong 3.26 ERA, although his peripherals are closer to average and he’s benefitted from opponents’ .257 batting average on balls in play. The Giants will likely see 4/5 of their starting rotation hit free agency this winter, so they could be eager to bring DeSclafani back, even if that comes via a lofty 2022 salary.

Morton has had another productive season in his first year as a Brave, but his previous two teams (the Astros in 2018 and the Rays in 2020) let him reach free agency without making a qualifying offer despite his consistently strong track record. That’s presumably due to concerns about his past injury history and age. He’ll turn 38 this winter and might check his potential earning power by limiting himself to teams in the Southeastern part of the country — as he reportedly did last offseason. That could inspire the Braves to pass on a QO, but Morton continually reels off above-average performances, and this is an Atlanta front office that has been eager to dole out hefty single-year salaries for key veteran upgrades in recent years.

Iglesias looks like the top impending free agent reliever (assuming the White Sox exercise their option over Craig Kimbrel). He’s sporting an ERA under 3.00 for the fifth time in his six seasons since moving to the bullpen, and he’s never had a single-season SIERA above 3.55. Home runs have been an issue, but Iglesias gets above-average results year in and year out and has some of the best strikeout and walk numbers in the game in 2021.

Long Shots

The Giants hold a $22MM club option (with a $3MM buyout) over Posey’s services for next season. If the front office is willing to commit him a significant salary, they’ll just exercise the option rather than going the QO route. Indeed, they’re reportedly planning to do exactly that (or to potentially pursue a multi-year extension with the franchise icon). Either way, there’s no real reason to involve the qualifying offer here.

Canha would be a very plausible qualifying offer candidate on many teams. He’s been a well above-average hitter and overall performer three years running and is generally one of the game’s more underrated players. The A’s, though, didn’t make a QO to either of Semien or Liam Hendriks last season. Canha’s a Bay Area native, and his age (33 in February) will cap the length of offers he receives from other clubs. Given that, it’s not hard to envision him accepting a QO if offered. The A’s, who perennially run low payrolls and will have a loaded class of arbitration-eligible players this winter, don’t seem likely to take that risk.

Wainwright has had a fantastic 2021 season, and the Cardinals figure to be motivated to keep the franchise icon in St. Louis in some capacity. But that also looked to be true after his strong 2020 campaign, and Wainwright only wound up landing a one-year, $8MM deal. He’d be well-deserved in demanding a raise over that sum to return next season, but it remains to be seen if the Cardinals would be willing to chance more than doubling his salary  — particularly if they feel Wainwright’s motivated to remain in St. Louis rather than pursue the highest possible offers in free agency.

Kluber signed an $11MM deal with the Yankees last offseason after back-to-back seasons wrecked by injury. He pitched well through ten starts but has been out since late May with a shoulder strain. Kluber’s nearing a return to action, but his missing nearly three months only adds to prior concerns about his ability to handle a significant workload at this stage of his career.

Kim, García and Wood are all having strong 2021 seasons and could plausibly land solid multi-year deals this winter. Each has enough question marks that their teams don’t seem especially likely to offer a salary in the range of the qualifying offer, though. Kim doesn’t miss many bats; García has had extreme highs and lows throughout his career; Wood has a checkered injury history. García’s contract contains a $12MM club option that vests into a mutual option if he reaches 492 plate appearances this season. If that option doesn’t vest, the Brewers would obviously have no incentive to decline the option only to make a qualifying offer at a higher price point.

Opt-Out Clauses

Each of Arenado (six years, $179MM), Castellanos (two years, $34MM) and Martinez (one year, $19.35MM) has significant guaranteed money remaining on their contracts but can opt out of those deals this winter. Arenado and Castellanos would be locks to reject qualifying offers if they trigger their opt-out provisions, since they’d be foregoing bigger guarantees to test the market.

Martinez’s player option is of similar enough value to the projected value of the qualifying offer that he could plausibly trigger the opt-out but then accept a QO. Even if that proved to be the case, the Red Sox would probably be happy to keep him in the middle of the lineup for another season.

Ineligible

Free Agent Notes: McCann, Angels, Yankees, Lester, Castro

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It appeared earlier Wednesday that catcher James McCann would join the Mets, though an agreement hasn’t materialized yet, and they’re not the only team chasing him at the moment. Robert Murray of FanSided tweets that the Angels are still in contention for McCann, a California native who would seemingly provide an upgrade over their current backstops, Max Stassi and Anthony Bemboom. McCann was just a backup with the White Sox last season, but he logged terrific offensive numbers then and was impressive as a starter in 2019. It could take a four-year deal to land him this winter.

Some more notes on the open market…

  • The Yankees haven’t shown interest in re-signing right-hander Masahiro Tanaka, Andy Martino of SNY says (video link). The team is more focused on re-signing second baseman DJ LeMahieu, but it doesn’t seem likely to dole out any other sizable contracts, according to Martino. Tanaka has been a dependable part of the Yankees’ rotation since he emigrated from Japan in 2014, but the club may pass on bringing him back and instead decide to ride with its in-house options to begin 2021. The YES Network’s Michael Kay painted a similar picture recently on his ESPN Radio show (link via NJ.com’s Randy Miller). Kay noted that LeMahieu is the team’s top priority, adding that if a deal comes together, he “might be the last big guy they get.” Reports over the past several months have indicated that the Yankees are unlikely to be aggressive spenders this winter, with LeMahieu serving as a possible exception after two brilliant years in the Bronx.
  • Red Sox fans hoping to see a reunion with lefty Jon Lester don’t seem likely to get their wish, as WEEI’s Rob Bradford reports that Boston hasn’t reached out to its former ace this offseason. Right-handers Corey Kluber and Matt Shoemaker are among the names the Red Sox have contacted as they look to stabilize the back of their rotation, per Bradford. Boston also had interest in Charlie Morton before he signed with the Braves, although remaining close to his family’s Florida home was a priority for Morton.
  • The Astros and Rangers are among the teams with interest in catcher Jason Castro, Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets. Castro began his career as a member of the Astros, with whom he played from 2010-16, before joining the Twins in free agency. The 33-year-old has regularly combined passable offense with well-regarded defense (particularly as a pitch framer), though he is coming off a somewhat disappointing campaign at the plate between the Angels and Padres. If he goes back to Houston, the left-handed-hitting Castro could platoon with righty Martin Maldonado. In Texas, he would presumably team with Jose Trevino to comprise the Rangers’ top two backstops.

Braves Notes: Melancon, Morton, Leaks, Chemistry, And Culture

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The Braves pulled off a somewhat surprising pair of moves early this postseason by nabbing starters Drew Smyly and Charlie Morton on one-year deals. That the deals were surprising, however, was not surprising. The Braves keep their internal conversations about players internal, according to the Athletic’s David O’Brien, who writes, “Atlanta is as leak-free as any organization in sports regarding rumors of potential trades and free-agent signings, and if the player and his agent are equally private, which is how the Braves like it and something that agents are aware of, there could and often are discussions and deals completed before anything is leaked.”

Hence, the dearth of news about re-signing, say, Mark Melancon, O’Brien notes, doesn’t equate to a lack of movement or interest. Simply, if the Braves do bring Melancon back, the public isn’t likely to hear about it until the deal is done.

In the meantime, Braves’ fans can content themselves with the additions they’ve already made this winter. After all, while neither the Smyly nor Morton contracts were big deals financially, they are big deals in terms of potential impact. The Morton acquisition bumped Fangraphs’ valuation of Atlanta’s rotation from the 16th-ranked rotation in the game to 11th, writes Jay Jaffe. Morton brings 1.5 more projected WAR than the Braves’ in-house alternative, per Steamer.

But for Morton, the decision to sign on the dotted line had as much to do with the personalities involved as it did the strength of the rotation. Familiarity with catching coach Sal Fasano, pitching coach Rick Kranitz, and catcher Travis d’Arnaud helped Morton commit to the switch from Tampa to Atlanta, according to a piece by O’Brien from just before Thanksgiving.

The already-established clubhouse culture in Atlanta also made the Braves an intriguing destination. Chemistry may not be the metric du jour for statisticians, but it was a consideration for Morton. Per O’Brien, Morton said, “Most good teams, they can outplay their talent level just by being close and having good attitudes and having fun. From everything that I know and what I’ve seen, the Braves have both. It looks like they’re really loose, fun-loving, but they’re also really talented. So I’m looking forward to being part of a group where you’re looking forward to getting to the park every day and you just want to hang out, being excited to play together.”

MLBTR Poll: Grading The Braves’ Recent Signings

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The Braves have easily been the offseason’s most active team in the early going. Atlanta has made a pair of rotation additions, signing southpaw Drew Smyly to a one-year, $11MM deal and bringing in Charlie Morton for one year at $15MM.

Single-year terms has become a staple of the Alex Anthopoulos regime in Atlanta. They’ve had plenty of success with short-term additions of Josh Donaldson and Marcell Ozuna, but last winter’s Cole Hamels signing didn’t pan out as the left-hander’s year was derailed by injury. The front office decided to roll the dice on a new pair of veteran hurlers after coming up one game shy of a pennant in 2020.

Each of Morton and Smyly was indeed projected by the MLBTR staff to ink one-year deals this winter. However, both pitchers pulled in a bit more money than anticipated during what is widely expected to be a frigid offseason in the wake of teams suffering massive revenue losses. Morton picked up $7MM more than anticipated, while Smyly’s deal came in $6MM above expectation.

There are plenty of reasons the Braves’ front office decided to jump the market on these specific pitchers. Morton put up ace-caliber numbers from 2017-19 and rounded back into form down the stretch after a difficult start this past season. Smyly has battled injuries and inconsistency throughout his career but flashed a new level for the Giants in 2020. The 31-year-old showed massively improved raw stuff and generated whiffs in bunches en route to a 2.01 FIP. He’ll need to prove he can sustain those gains for more than 26.1 innings, but it’s easy to see the upside.

One other factor worth considering: the qualifying offer. Neither Morton nor Smyly has received one in the past, meaning they’ll be eligible for the QO next winter if they spend the entire season in Atlanta.  It’s not especially likely either player warrants a QO in eleven months. Morton would be entering his age-38 season and might not even wish to keep playing; Smyly’s a year removed from a 6.24 ERA season. But the same would’ve been true of Kevin Gausman a year ago, and he sufficiently rehabilitated his value during his platform year to earn a qualifying offer from the Giants this offseason.

So, how do MLBTR readers feel about the Braves’ two new additions? Grade each deal from the team’s perspective. (poll links for app users)

 

Latest On Twins’ Search For Starting Pitching

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Right-hander Charlie Morton came off the free-agent board Tuesday when he signed with Atlanta, but the Braves had competition in the form of the Twins. Minnesota “had a lot of interest” in Morton, according to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Geography may have worked against the Twins, though, as Morton has said in the past he prefers to pitch on the East Coast.

Even after missing out on Morton, the Twins still have a mostly set rotation with 2020 Cy Young contender Kenta Maeda, Jose Berrios, Michael Pineda and Randy Dobnak among those in the fold. However, with Jake Odorizzi, Rich Hill and Homer Bailey currently on the open market, the team hopes to address its rotation from outside, as Dan Hayes of The Athletic relays.

“Any time you lose Jake Odorizzi, Rich Hill and Homer Bailey to free agency, you’re not going to be complacent,” general manager Thad Levine said. “You realize there are pretty significant holes to fill. But we certainly don’t go into this offseason as if we have to fill three holes.”

Hill, 40, was the only member of that trio to deliver quality results over a sizable sample of innings for the Twins last season, but according to Hayes, they haven’t closed the door on re-signing Odorizzi – who MLBTR predicts will earn a three-year, $39MM payday this offseason. Otherwise, though, it doesn’t appear they’ll shop at the top of the market for pitching help, as Hayes writes it’s “unlikely” the Twins will go after the No. 1 free agent available, Trevor Bauer, or pursue trades for the Rays’ Blake Snell or the Cubs’ Yu Darvish.

[RELATED: Twins Offseason Outlook]

Braves Sign Charlie Morton

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The Braves have signed their second veteran starter in as many weeks, announcing on Tuesday that they’ve agreed to a one-year pact with right-hander Charlie Morton. The contract will pay Morton, a client of Jet Sports Management, a guaranteed $15MM for the 2021 season. (The Braves are one of the few clubs who divulge contract details in their press releases.) There are no incentives or no-trade clauses in the deal, tweets ESPN’s Buster Olney. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports that the Rays were the other finalist in Morton’s market.

Charlie Morton | Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The loss of Morton surely stings for Rays fans, particularly given that his $15MM guarantee matches the sum for which the Rays could’ve retained him had they simply exercised a club option for the upcoming season. It seems that Tampa Bay had hoped to keep Morton at a lesser rate for the upcoming season, perhaps seeking to leverage their proximity to his family’s home in Bradenton, but the market for Morton proved strong. He’ll remain reasonably close to his family — it’s a 75-minute flight from Atlanta to Tampa — and now return to the organization that originally drafted him back in 2002.

Morton, 37, battled some shoulder fatigue and was limited to nine starts and 38 innings in 2020, pitching to a 4.74 ERA in that short time. The down time on the IL after his first two starts clearly did him some good, however, as the veteran righty returned with improved velocity and a 3.72 ERA in seven starts before going on to post a 2.70 ERA through 20 postseason innings. And of course, Morton is just one year removed from a third-place Cy Young finish with the Rays in 2019, when he worked to a 3.05 ERA and 2.81 FIP with 11.1 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 through 194 2/3 regular-season frames.

As has been general manager Alex Anthopoulos’ modus operandi since assuming his post in Atlanta, the Braves have acted quickly to address a clear need — and done so with the addition of short-term contracts for veterans. Morton joins southpaw Drew Smyly, who inked a one-year deal worth $11MM last week, as two new faces who’ll round out the Braves’ rotation behind Mike Soroka, Max Fried and Ian Anderson. The addition of Morton and Smyly likely pushes Kyle Wright out of the Atlanta rotation, although he has minor league options remaining and could head to Triple-A Gwinnett as a depth piece in the event of injury.

The Braves’ signings of both Morton and Smyly will at least allow them to entertain the idea of dealing from their pitching depth to address other needs and strengthen other areas this winter, though. Not only is Wright displaced from the rotation, but each of Sean Newcomb, Bryse Wilson, Touki Toussaint, Huascar Ynoa, Tucker Davidson, Patrick Weigel and Jasseel De La Cruz is now without a clear path to big league innings — at least in the rotation.

Soroka may require some extra time to recover from an Achilles tear that ended his 2020 season, though an exact timeline on his return is still unclear. Wright is the likeliest option to stand in for him early in the year. Some of the names on that alternate arms be used as relievers and others in minor league rotations, but the Atlanta organization clearly has some young pitchers to peddle if they’re interested in virtually any trade asset on the market this winter.

As for the Braves’ payroll, the addition of Morton gives the team $93.7MM guaranteed to 10 players. Adding in an arbitration class projected to be worth roughly $20MM would push the payroll north of $113MM, although the Braves have some non-tender candidates among their ranks (e.g. Luke Jackson, Johan Camargo, Adam Duvall). The club could also look to move the final guaranteed year of center fielder Ender Inciarte’s contract in the coming months.

All of that is crucial to bear in mind as the team looks to retain free-agent left fielder Marcell Ozuna — or possibly to replace him if he lands elsewhere. We’ve not seen Anthopoulos spend at the levels it’d take to sign Ozuna since he took over the GM post in Atlanta, though it’s at least possible he’ll break that trend for Ozuna. To this point, Will Smith’s three-year, $40MM contract is the largest free-agent deal issued under this front office regime. It’s not known what extent the Liberty Media-owned Braves can further spend, but they’re a ways shy of the more than $150MM payroll they stood to carry on Opening Day 2020 (prior to the league shutdown and subsequent prorating of salaries).

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported that the two sides were close to a deal. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported the agreement and the contract’s value (via Twitter).

Braves Interested In Charlie Morton

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The Braves addressed their rotation when they signed left-hander Drew Smyly to a one-year, $11MM contract last week. But that may not be it for Atlanta, which has “strong interest” in free-agent right-hander Charlie Morton, according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com.

Signing in Atlanta would be a full-circle move for Morton, who was a third-round pick of the team in 2002 and someone who made his major league debut with the club in 2008. Morton then moved on to the Pirates and Phillies from 2009-16, but he didn’t turn into a high-end starter until ’17 as a member of the Astros. Since then, Morton has been a terrific regular-season pitcher and a lights-out playoff performer. The 37-year-old owns a 3.34 ERA/3.27 FIP with 10.64 K/9, 2.98 BB/9 and a 48.4 percent groundball rate through 546 1/3 innings over the past four seasons.

Morton has said in the past that he would like to stay on the East Coast, which could benefit the Braves if they do earnestly pursue him in free agency. And even after signing Smyly, there’s still room for at least one more proven rotation acquisition. Along with Smyly, the Braves have Max Fried, Mike Soroka and Ian Anderson as set starters for next year, but there is space for a wily vet like Morton.

Charlie Morton Drawing Early Interest

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NOV. 9: There are “at least eight to 10 teams” interested in Morton, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. The Rays probably won’t offer him more than $10MM, Feinsand hears.

NOV. 6: Charlie Morton immediately became one of the most talented pitchers available in free agency when the Rays declined his $15MM club option. Unsurprisingly, the 36-year-old (37 next week) is drawing strong interest early on, reports Robert Murray of Fansided.

During his last trip through free agency, Morton prioritized geographic fit when signing with Tampa Bay. That’ll probably be the case again this offseason, with teams located near his Florida home gaining a distinct advantage. To that end, a reunion with the Rays for less than the $15MM option price still seems in play. During the season, Morton alluded to the possibility of retirement as well, but there’ll seemingly be plenty of opportunity for him should he want to continue playing. The MLBTR staff projects Morton for a one-year, $8MM deal this winter with the Mets as a potential landing spot.

Morton didn’t match his Cy Young finalist 2019 performance this past season, pitching to a 4.74 ERA over nine regular season starts. His peripherals were quite strong, though, and Morton still averaged around 94 MPH on his fastball. There’s plenty of reason to believe he’d upgrade basically any rotation around the league.

AL East Notes: Morton, Zunino, Walker, Red Sox, Yolmer

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Charlie Morton “wasn’t surprised” that the Rays declined to exercise their $15MM club option on his services, but the veteran right-hander told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that the team’s decision “doesn’t mean we won’t try to work something out.  If there’s mutual interest, the next step is gauging what that looks like.”  Rays GM Erik Neander indicated yesterday that the team indeed hoped to bring Morton back for a third season.  If an acceptable deal can’t be worked out with the Rays or another club, Morton reiterated to Topkin that he’ll gauge whether he wants to keep playing, weighing such “typical factors” as his health, playing for a contender, and “does it make sense financially and geographically?”

The Rays declined options on both Morton and (at $4.5MM) catcher Mike Zunino yesterday.  Jet Sports Management represents both players, and agent B.B. Abbott told Topkin in a separate piece that there aren’t any hard feelings about the contractual decisions.  “Their first choice was to be in Tampa, and it probably still is their first choice,” Abbott said, but now that Morton and Zunino are on the open market, “they owe it to themselves to see what’s out there.”

More from the AL East…

  • Taijuan Walker figures to get a lot of attention in free agency this winter, but there is mutual interest between Walker and the Blue Jays in a return to Toronto’s rotation, Sportsnet.ca’s Ben Nicholson-Smith writes.  Acquired in a trade from the Mariners in late August, Walker posted excellent numbers (1.37 ERA, 8.5 K/9, 2.27 K/BB rate) in his six starts in a Jays uniform.  Beyond the on-field results, Walker was also impressed by both the Jays’ long-term potential as contenders, and how the club treats its players.  “They have really good staff, coaches, training staff.  For me, it’s all about comfort and people,” Walker said.  “Being connected and having that family, and that’s what it felt like.”  Once one of baseball’s most highly-touted pitching prospects, injuries cost Walker virtually all of the 2018 and 2019 seasons but he has somewhat revived his stock after his solid 2020 performance.
  • While the Red Sox have interviewed several candidates to be their next manager, “the managerial search appears to be centered on determining if Chaim Bloom and Alex Cora can work well together,” the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham writes.  Of course, Cora was already Boston’s manager when Bloom was hired as the club’s chief baseball officer last October, though Cora’s firing and subsequent one-year suspension are undoubtedly considerations for Red Sox ownership and the front office in deciding whether or not to bring Cora back.  While Cora’s return has been widely speculated, Abraham isn’t sure a rehire “is automatic,” opining that Cora could potentially wait to see if another high-profile job (perhaps with the Mets) becomes available.
  • Now that Yolmer Sanchez has been claimed on waivers, the Orioles have some extra depth as they consider other infield moves, as MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski writes.  No decision has yet been made about Jose Iglesias’ $3.5MM club option, and with Sanchez now on hand as a second base candidate, the O’s could potentially non-tender Hanser Alberto, who is projected to earn between $2.3MM and $4.1MM in arbitration (depending on how arb salaries are calculated this winter).  Sanchez is himself eligible for arbitration, however, and his projected $6.2MM arb figure last winter was the chief reason why the White Sox non-tendered him last November.
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