Orioles Skipper Noncommittal About Using Charlie Morton in Rotation Going Forward

Brandon Hyde hasn't committed to any plans regarding continuing to use Charlie Morton in the Baltimore Orioles rotation or not.

Mar 28, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Charlie Morton (50) walks towards the dugout after being relieved during the fourth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre | Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

After the Baltimore Orioles lost Corbin Burnes in free agency, instead of going after another high-end ace, the strategy by general manager Mike Elias was to create depth in the rotation.

That resulted in the additions of Tomoyuki Sugano and Charlie Morton, two veteran players who were supposed to provide this starting unit with consistent, solid starts whenever they took the mound.

Only one of them has lived up to that billing, with Sugano flashing the stuff that made him a legend in Japan by becoming the Orioles' best starting pitcher in the early going.

Morton, meanwhile, has been a complete disaster.

The 18-year big league pitcher came into Saturday's outing with a 10.89 ERA across his five starts. He was scheduled to start the second leg of the doubleheader, but manager Brandon Hyde decided to open the game with Keegan Akin before calling upon Morton out of the bullpen.

Akin performed well, throwing 1 2/3 scoreless frames.

But in the third inning, after Morton struck out Tomas Nido to end the second, the contest was broken open after Riley Greene hit a three-run homer.

The same things that have plagued Morton to start the year -- walks and home runs -- came back to bit him in this one, issuing a walk to start the third before giving up a single and the longball two batters later.

Morton was handed the loss.

He's now 0-6 on the year and hasn't given Baltimore a chance to win during his outings.

That has drawn the ire of the fan base, but it has not resulted in Morton being moved out of the rotation as of now since manager Brandon Hyde was noncommittal about what he might do with the veteran pitcher moving forward

"I haven't even gotten there yet," he said, per Roch Kubatko of MASN.

The hard part about any potential decision regarding the rotation is the lack of depth.

With Grayson Rodriguez and Zach Eflin on the injured list, the options for who the Orioles can turn to are limited despite the poor results they have gotten from Morton to start the year.