ATLANTA – The Atlanta Braves today signed RHP Charlie Morton to a one-year contract worth $15 million. The Braves 40-man roster stands at 39.
Morton, 37, spent the last two seasons with Tampa Bay, and went 2-2 with a 4.74 ERA (20 ER/38.0 IP) in nine games, all starts in 2020. The 6-foot-5, 235-pound native of Flemington, NJ, finished with 42 strikeouts against just 10 walks, while allowing four home runs last year. He also made four starts in the postseason, going 3-1 with a 2.70 ERA (6 ER/20.0 IP) as the Rays advanced to the World Series.
Originally drafted by Atlanta in the third round of the 2002 First-Year Player Draft out of Joel Barlow High School in Redding, CT, Morton made his major league debut with the Braves in 2008. He was dealt to Pittsburgh the following year in a trade for OF Nate McLouth, and spent seven seasons with the Pirates. He moved to Philadelphia for the 2016 season, before joining Houston in 2017.
Since 2017, Morton is 47-18 (.723) with a 3.34 ERA (203 ER/546.1 IP) in 97 games, all starts. His 47 wins over this stretch are sixth most in baseball, while his 646 strikeouts rank 10th. Overall, Morton is 93-89 with a 4.08 ERA (653 ER/1439.1 IP) in 259 regular season games, 258 starts. In the postseason, Morton is 7-3 with a 3.38 ERA (23 ER/61.1 IP) in 13 games, 12 starts.
Morton was an All-Star in 2018 and 2019, and won a World Series title in 2017 with the Astros. He finished third for the Cy Young Award in 2019 after going 16-6 and fanning a career-best 240.
