Braves Reunite With Veteran Pitcher After Tigers Release

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Veteran pitcher Charlie Morton signed with the Braves on Monday, one day after being released by the Tigers.

The Atlanta Braves have reunited with a beloved familiar face, signing veteran pitcher Charlie Morton to a major league contract on Monday.

It comes a day after the 41-year-old right-hander was designated for assignment and released by the Detroit Tigers.

This will be Morton’s third stint with the Braves. He was drafted by Atlanta in the third round (95th overall) in 2002 and made his MLB debut in 2008 before returning as a free agent in 2021.

Why Did the Tigers Release Charlie Morton?

After being acquired from the Baltimore Orioles prior to the July trade deadline, Morton didn’t help stabilize the rotation like the Tigers had hoped. Instead, he was wholly ineffective, registering a 7.09 ERA in nine starts.

Morton’s most recent outing, ironically, came Friday against the Braves, who tagged him for six runs on five hits over 1.1 innings. That raised his ERA to 12.75 in four September starts.

The free-falling Tigers, who have dropped six straight and nine of 10 after getting swept by Atlanta, DFA’d Morton on Sunday. He subsequently cleared waivers and was released, making him a free agent.

“I love the man, and he gave us what he could,” Tigers manager A.J Hinch said, via The Athletic. “We don’t have the time to sort it out over the next week as we push forward for more wins. Given that he wasn’t going to pitch and we’re getting towards the end of the line … we made the move to strengthen our pen for today and into the next series.”

Reliever Tanner Rainey was called up from Triple-A Toledo to fill Morton’s spot on the 40-man roster.

Why Did the Braves Sign Charlie Morton?

The Braves have yet to determine how, if at all, they will use Morton. Starting Tuesday, they have just five games remaining, all at home: two against the Washington Nationals followed by three against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“We don’t really have a plan,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said, via The Athletic. “We just got him back. So, I don’t know what that plan will be. I talked to him actually Saturday afternoon before batting practice (at Detroit), and this wasn’t even on the radar.

“So, we’ll kind of go over that once we get in there and talk to him.”

In 32 appearances (26 starts) this season, Morton is 9-11 with a 5.89 ERA and 148 strikeouts in 140.2 innings.

It’s possible Morton is used in relief or makes an abbreviated start. But if nothing else, his return, however brief, could give the Braves and their fans a final chance to say goodbye.

MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reported that Morton, who turns 42 in November, could be set to retire.

Morton’s had plenty of big moments as a Brave, but few were as impactful as 2021. He was 14-6 with a 3.34 ERA during the regular season, then had a 3.24 ERA in four postseason starts that included 2.1 shutout innings in Game 1 of the World Series. The Braves went on to beat the Houston Astros in six games to win their first World Series since 1995.

Douglas Bonjour is a breaking news contributor covering the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB and WNBA for Heavy. He is also a contributing writer for The Associated Press and has worked for Point Spreads, the Connecticut Post and Hearst Connecticut Media as a reporter and editor. More about Douglas Bonjour