Corné Hogeveen wrote a great article on Kevin Gausman and him potentially joining the Mets starting rotation for the 2021 campaign. In that same respect, I’d like to take a look into former Ray’s pitcher who just got his option declined for next year, right-hander Charlie Morton.

While Morton didn’t have a great shortened 2020 campaign, his 2018 and 2019 seasons were nothing short of spectacular. In 2020, the right hander appeared in 9 games, all of which he started, and went 2-2 with a 4.74 ERA in only 34.0 innings pitched. However, he was able to strikeout 42 in that timeframe as well as posting a WHIP of 1.39 during the season with the Rays.

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The veteran was looking much sharper in 2018 with the Houston Astros, right before joining Tampa Bay for the 2019 season, but let’s take a look at his last season with the Astros.

In 30 starts, Morton owned a 15-4 record with an ERA of 3.13 and a 1.16 WHIP. He clearly shows he has the abilities to keep runners off the bases, which in return translates to obviously giving up less runs. In a 167.0 innings pitched, Morton K’d 201 batters… he’s older but he’s no slouch.

After joining the Rays, Morton actually put up an even better season in 2019. He would go 16-6 with a 3.05 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in 33 starts, while striking out a whopping 240 batters in 194.2 innings pitched.

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Throughout his career in the postseason, he’s been close to phenomenal. He owns a 7-3 record with a 3.38 ERA, a 1.21 WHIP and has struck out 67 in 61.1 innings.

So maybe he dropped off during the 2020 season, however that could be due to a various amount of reasons, including a global pandemic and the difference in preparation for a season. Personally, I have no issues writing off his last year. If the Mets want to become as powerful as the Dodgers, he’d be a great veteran to add to the back of the rotation for two or so years.

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Photo from OCRegister.com