The Case For and Against Atlanta Braves Bringing Charlie Morton Back
One of the first, and biggest, decisions of the offseason will be whether or not the Atlanta Braves should bring back Charlie Morton.
As Lindsay pointed out in this article looking at all of the Braves' upcoming contract decisions, this one might not actually be up to the Braves.
Charlie Morton has hinted in the past that he might be perfectly happy hanging things up, as the soon-to-be 40-year-old has accomplished pretty much everything in his 16-year career.
But the Braves do currently hold a $20 million team option on him for 2024.
If Morton does want to come back, should the Braves pick up such an expensive option?
Why the Braves Should Bring Morton Back
First and foremost, the Braves love having Morton around for his leadership in the clubhouse and what he can teach the young group of pitchers.
It's why they were willing to give him another $20 million for 2023 knowing his production might not correlate with that amount of money.
But it's not like Morton was terrible in 2023 with a 3.64 ERA, 14 wins, and a 10.08 K/9 in 163.1 innings.
Another huge positive for bringing Morton back is that he gives you innings. The 163.1 innings he pitched in 2023 were the fewest he's thrown in a full season since 2017.
And here is the key, how are you going to replace that production?
The top free agents like Aaron Nola, Blake Snell, and Sonny Gray are going to cost just as much -- if not more -- a year and will likely require at least a four or five-year commitment at that average annual value.
Even the next tier of free agent arms like Jordan Montgomery, Marcus Stroman (player option), and Michael Wacha (team option) will cost around the same amount and bring just as much risk.
It really all comes down if the Braves think they can spend that money more wisely and get equal or greater value than the known commodity they have in Charlie Morton.
Why the Braves Should Move on from Morton
The first obvious point here is that he's set to turn 40, has taken some significant steps back the last two years, and finished the season injured.
Since really turning his career around in 2017 with the Houston Astros, Morton has always been around a 1.10 or even 1.00 WHIP kind of pitcher (not including the 2020 season).
In the last two years his WHIP has been 1.233 and 1.427 respectively. A big reason for that is high walk rates of 3.3 and 4.6 BB/9.
That certainly seems to signal an aging pitcher who can't consistently locate his pitches anymore.
Just take a look at his Baseball Savant page and you can see from 2021 to 2022 to 2023 there starts to be a lot more blue on his page.
But as stated at the end of the reasons to keep him, how can you best spend that money?
The Braves have been very hesitant to go out and give a big contract to a free-agency starting pitcher, so that doesn't seem likely.
But with your two aces at the top in Max Fried and Spencer Strider, you really just need some quality depth to give you innings. Could you snag a couple of pitchers for half that price and help improve your depth at the starting pitcher spot?
Maybe sign two of Lucas Giolito, Luis Severino, and Jack Flaherty and see him they can put it together in Atlanta on short deals to re-establish their market.
(Editor's note: A guy like Zach Plesac on a minor league deal makes a lot of sense, too)
That's worked in the past for the Braves -- albeit mostly with hitters.
Or maybe you go even cheaper and grab some veterans you feel a little more confident in getting production from like Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson.
There are ways the Braves could use that $20 million to get similar production from two starters and improve their depth.
Again, Morton might force their decision if he decides to hang it up. But this will be a huge decision for the Braves and could be a huge determining factor on what their offseason plans look like.
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