By: Kipp Branch

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The Braves have signed their second veteran starter this offseason, announcing that they’ve agreed to a one-year pact with right-hander Charlie Morton.

The contract will pay Morton a guaranteed $15M for the 2021 season.

Morton joins southpaw Drew Smyly, who inked a one-year deal worth $11M earlier in the offseason, as two new faces who’ll round out the Braves’ rotation behind Mike Soroka, Max Fried and Ian Anderson.

The addition of Morton and Smyly likely pushes Kyle Wright out of the Atlanta rotation, and likely back to Triple A Gwinnett to start the 2021 season.

Sean Newcomb, Bryse Wilson, Touki Toussaint, Huascar Ynoa, Tucker Davidson, Patrick Weigel and Jasseel De La Cruz don’t really have a shot at being part of the rotation going into the 2021 season.

Soroka is still recovering from his season ending Achilles injury may need some extra time to recover, and may not be available to start the season in April.

The Braves have quality arms on the roster and in the farm system they could part ways with some of those arms to build up other areas of the roster.

Morton is 37 years old and a short-term fit but he should bolster the Braves’ rotation.

He’s 47-18 with a 3.34 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 10.6 K/9 in the past four seasons.

The only four starting pitchers in baseball over that span who’ve matched Morton’s ERA, WHIP and K/9 in as many innings are Jacob deGrom, Gerrit Cole, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander.

Morton has also been a solid in the playoffs something the Braves will need in the short term as this team is a World Series contender.

Morton and Smyly make the Braves the favorites again in the NL East and maybe the National League in 2021. The Dodgers are still the team to beat and the Braves are right there nipping at their heels.

This will be Morton’s second stint with the Braves. The Atlanta Braves selected Morton in the third round with the 95th overall selection of the 2002 Major League Baseball draft.

The Braves added Morton to their 40-man roster on November 20, 2007. Morton made his major league debut on June 14, 2008.

On June 3, 2009, the Braves traded Morton with Gorkys Hernández and Jeff Locke to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Nate McLouth. Any Braves fan remember that trade?

I think adding a veteran like Morton to this rotation makes the Braves a much better team. It is a short-term fix for a team that can win a world championship next season, and a great bargain for $15M.

It is also cheaper than the failed Cole Hamels experiment from 2020 that provided no ROI.

Biggest question now for Atlanta is will the National League adopt the designated hitter rule permanently in 2021 so they can resign Marcell Qzuna?

If they can’t the Braves are going to have to package some of those arms listed above in a package to sign another power hitter to insert in the lineup.

I’m still not sure about third base for the Braves also. I feel like the Braves need to address that position this off season.

With the signing of Morton, the Braves will have one of the top rotations in MLB.