ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves have reached a deal with starting pitcher Charlie Morton on a $20 million, one-year contract for 2023 with a $20 million club option for 2024 that does not include a buyout.
Morton, 38, is 9-6 with a 4.29 ERA in 30 starts this season. The right-hander went 14-6 with a 3.34 ERA in 33 starts to help the club win the World Series last year. The two-time All-Star has compiled a 23-12 record and a 3.80 ERA with Atlanta since the start of last season, and his 416 strikeouts rank third in the National League during that span.
The deal was reached Friday, ahead of a big series against the New York Mets in the NL East Division title race. His contract this season is for $20 million.
Morton's 200 strikeouts this year rank fifth in the NL, and he is one of just three pitchers in Atlanta history to log at least 200 strikeouts in multiple seasons. John Smoltz (five seasons) and Phil Niekro (three seasons), both in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, are the only others to do so.
Morton fanned Wil Myers on April 14 for strikeout No. 1,500 of his career.
Originally drafted by Atlanta in the third round of 2002 out of Barlow High School in Redding, Connecticut, Morton made his MLB debut with the Braves in 2008.
Morton was dealt to the Pittsburgh Pirates the following year in a trade for outfielder Nate McLouth and spent seven seasons with that club. He was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies ahead of the 2016 season, missing most of it due to injury before joining the Houston Astros for two seasons — and winning a World Series in 2017 — then played with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2019-20 before returning to Atlanta.