Charlie Morton Is Coming to Atlanta and the Braves' Rotation Is Going to Be Salty

Alright folks, it is with sincere regret that I must inform you that both the Atlanta Braves and myself are, in fact, back on our bullshit. Charlie Morton is coming to Truist Park to complement three of the best young pitchers in baseball and I will, unfortunately, be required to re-invest my heart and soul into this baseball team and let the chips fall where they may next October.

Last year's veteran starter one-year contract went to Cole Hamels and if Morton can make two starts in 2021, his $15 million will already be better spent than the $18 million the Braves gave Hamels for a whopping 3.1 IP in 2020. And Morton is exactly what this Braves rotation needed this past season: a steady veteran presence to help bring these young guys along and give you an ERA somewhere under 4.00. Anything more than that is a massive bonus.

Morton's ERA ballooned to 4.74 in 2020, but that's a fake season that nobody should really look into anyway — except for Freddie Freeman's MVP, which was entirely legitimate and deserved. In the three seasons before that, Morton had a 3.27 ERA in 508 innings. Anything resembling that guy is a massive upgrade over the revolving door the Braves had at the back end of the rotation after Mike Soroka went down last season.

And with having already signed Drew Smyly, whose stuff was some of the best of his career in 2020, Atlanta's rotation with a healthy Mike Soroka looks pretty salty.

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I'm all in. Bring back Best Cleanup Hitter in Baseball Marcell Ozuna and let's go to work. I refuse to believe that a 3-1 lead in the NLCS is as far as a team with this core will get. They're simply too good. We're going to be back and better than ever in 2021.

Also, credit to The Rocket for privately breaking this news more than a week ago. Stay hot.