For the past couple of years, the Orioles have been one of the better teams in the American League. With the most wins in the league during that two-year span, there is clearly a lot of talent in Baltimore.
The young core of the Orioles has resulted in them having one of the best lineups in baseball, led by emerging superstar Gunnar Henderson. As the talented shortstop aims to win an MVP in the next couple of years, there is some more talent on the way.
While there isn’t much reason to be concerned about the lineup heading into the season, the same can’t be said about the starting rotation. The loss of Corbin Burnes in free agency was a significant blow and one that wasn’t addressed properly.
However, while Baltimore might not have brought in an ace this winter, they did bring in a veteran who they will have high expectations for.
Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report recently spoke about expectations being high for veteran right-hander Charlie Morton this coming season.
At 41 years old, Morton has been able to hold off father time thus far and has proven to be a solid workhorse in the rotation.
For the last four seasons, he has been able to total at least 160 innings pitched each year, making him a fairly reliable starter. For the Orioles, pitchers making it through the entire year has been an issue, and this could be one of the reasons why they were drawn to Morton.
Last year with the Atlanta Braves, he totaled a 8-10 record, 4.10 ERA, and had 167 strikeouts in 165.1 innings pitched.
While Morton can be a solid depth piece in the rotation, the two-time All-Star’s best days are likely behind him.
Even though the veteran might be able to eat innings for the team, the rotation has taken a significant step backwards losing Burnes. While they might be able to survive in the regular season with depth and win a lot of games, October baseball might be a challenge.
There is some risk with the Morton addition. At his age, a quick and significant decline can really happen at any time. Considering the Orioles gave him a $15 million deal for 2025, they are hoping that he’s still got something left in the tank.
Overall, based on his age, expectations shouldn’t be overly high for Morton heading into 2025.