In trademark fashion, Morton lending 'infinite wisdom' to O's

SARASOTA, Fla. -- The list of pitchers whose careers have been impacted by Charlie Morton -- a savvy MLB veteran entering his 18th season -- is quite long. Among them is Zach Eflin, his former Phillies teammate who he’s reunited with on the Orioles in 2025.

Together in Philadelphia in 2016, Morton and Eflin were both sidelined for significant time. Morton was limited to four starts due to a left hamstring injury sustained in April, while Eflin -- who got his first big league callup in June -- didn’t pitch after August due to a right knee injury.

Neither guy pitched much, and yet, Morton had a lasting influence on Eflin’s career.

“I didn’t necessarily know how to go about [injuries], and he really helped guide me through that,” said Eflin, now 30 and entering his 10th MLB season. “Knowing Charlie, he probably didn’t think he helped me too much. But he helped me a lot, and it kind of shaped the way I thought about how I went about my knee injuries and the steps after that.”

The soft-spoken Morton has a reputation around baseball as being humble, kind and down to earth. It’s a reason why Baltimore signed the 41-year-old right-hander to a one-year, $15 million deal. The O’s also had prior success with veteran rotation leaders in recent years, including Jordan Lyles (2022), Kyle Gibson (‘23) and Corbin Burnes (‘24).

It helps that Morton can still perform well, too. Coming off a four-year run with the Braves in which he recorded a 3.87 ERA in 124 starts, the righty made his first appearance in an Orioles uniform on Tuesday afternoon, when he tossed a scoreless first inning on 17 pitches in the O's 8-7 Grapefruit League win vs. the Tigers at Ed Smith Stadium.

However, Spring Training is less about game results and more about bonding with teammates and establishing a positive team culture. There have been plenty of eager ears in Baltimore’s clubhouse hoping to hear some of Morton’s “infinite wisdom,” as Eflin put it. But Morton isn’t here to be overbearing. That’s not his style.

“I enjoy creating relationships with people. I don’t necessarily think about myself as a veteran guy that needs to be something specific, other than available and trying to create meaningful, trusting relationships so people will talk to me,” Morton said. “Because I think that’s how we learn from each other. It’s not going to do me any good -- and it’s not going to do anybody good -- to sit there and lecture somebody. The meaningful impacts that you have with people are based off of something a little bit deeper.”

When Morton thinks back to the earlier years of his MLB career, he doesn’t remember too many of the technical conversations (aside from one about pitch grips with former hurler A.J. Burnett, his Pirates teammate in 2012, ‘13 and ‘15). His memories are instead filled with talks with older guys who genuinely cared about him as a person.

Those types of discussions will surely happen between Morton and his new O’s teammates even more as the 2025 season ramps up.

“I talked to him a little bit just as we’ve been doing drills and around the weight room and stuff,” said 26-year-old right-hander Chayce McDermott, the O’s No. 5 prospect, per MLB Pipeline. “I think it’s a great presence to have in the clubhouse.”

Cade Povich, a 24-year-old left-hander, is friends with Braves right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach, his former University of Nebraska teammate. Schwellenbach (Morton’s teammate in Atlanta last season) had already given Povich a scouting report on Morton before Orioles pitchers trickled into Sarasota throughout early February.

So far, Morton’s endearing traits have come as advertised to Povich.

“He knows so much, and he’s so wise when it comes to the pitching aspect of things,” Povich said. “He’s very personable as well. To have him is definitely going to be a cool kind of upside for our staff.”

As youngsters like McDermott and Povich get to know Morton better, they’re sure to learn what Eflin and plenty of others already know.

Morton is an incredibly valuable resource who can impact somebody else’s career. And that’s why Eflin -- becoming a veteran in his own right -- hopes to pick up even more knowledge as the two sit at their adjacent lockers in the Orioles’ clubhouse this spring.

“Any chance you get to pick his brain about anything about his career is huge,” Eflin said. “There are so many things that he does right and so many people that have said great things about Charlie throughout the years. He’s loved throughout the game of baseball.

“So to be able to sit here and play with him kind of on the tail end of his career is awesome. It’s been a lot of fun so far, and I look forward to learning as much as I can from him.”