In trademark fashion, Morton lending 'infinite wisdom' to O's
Jake Rill
@JakeDRillSARASOTA, 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.¡±