Charlie Morton Return to Braves Appears 'Unlikely': Report

The Athletic's David O'Brien reported that a Charlie Morton return to the Atlanta Braves "seems unlikely" given the team's current situation.

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Charlie Morton | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Left-hander Max Fried will not be back for the Atlanta Braves next season. Veteran right-hander Charlie Morton might not be either.

The Athletic's David O'Brien reported Wednesday that the Braves and Morton have not engaged in "recent contract discussions" and that Morton is open to fielding offers from other teams.

"League sources said the Braves are focused on filling multiple needs, including corner outfielder, back-end reliever and possibly middle-rotation starter," O'Brien wrote. "The team’s interest in Morton seems to have waned, or at least been put on the back burner."

O'Brien, though, added that Morton's suitors could be somewhat capped because he "would strongly prefer" to pitch for a team that holds its spring training close to where his family lives in Bradenton, Florida.

For that reason, O'Brien named the Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Rays, Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees as potential landing spots for Morton, in addition to the Braves.

Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, and Philadelphia are probably the best bets from Morton's perspective. He's 41 years old and may not want to go to a new organization for the final season of his career. Morton has pitched seven seasons for the Pirates, two for the Rays and one for the Phillies.

However, the Pirates and Rays have limited financial resources, so it's worth wondering if they'd be interested in signing Morton to a 1-year worth $20 million. That's what he's made from the Braves the past three years.

The Braves do have several needs to fill, but the most urgent appears to be in the starting rotation. Pitchers are going off the market quickly, so it's surprising that Atlanta isn't showing more urgency to either re-sign Morton or find his replacement.

Morton went 8-10 with a 4.19 ERA, 1.325 WHIP and 167 strikeouts in 165.1 innings this past season. He was third on the team in innings pitched.

Fried was second. The Braves may need to replace both starters this offseason.

Morton owns a 138-123 career record with a 4.01 ERA and 1307 WHIP in 383 MLB appearances.