There's no end to the list of things that have gone wrong for the Baltimore Orioles during their 11-18 start this season, but if you were to poll fans right now, one name would be at the very top: Charlie Morton.
Baltimore was counting on the veteran righty to help stabilize a rotation that otherwise saw precious little investment over the winter, especially after the injury bug struck both Grayson Rodriguez and Zach Eflin. But he's been anything but stable so far, getting torched to the tune of a 10.36 ERA over his first six outings.
The O's tried to give Morton a long leash. Heck, they even tried using him behind an opener. But things just kept getting worse, not better, and eventually it became clear that he'd lost the faith of his own manager. From there, the end felt inevitable, and sure enough the other shoe dropped on Wednesday, when Brandon Hyde announced that Morton would officially be shifting to the bullpen.
And there was much rejoicing throughout Baltimore. But while O's fans are no doubt thrilled at the prospect of not having to watch Morton take the ball every fifth day, that celebration will be very short-lived.
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Orioles no closer to solving rotation dilemma despite finally putting Charlie Morton in the bullpen
Don't get me wrong: This was the obvious and correct move; Morton simply has not looked like a big-league starter at any point this season, and he was taking Baltimore out of games before the team's offense even had a chance to settle in.
Moving on from Morton still doesn't bring this pitching staff any closer to functionality, though. Sure, a double-digit ERA is a very low bar, but ... who exactly can Baltimore count on to clear it right now? Tomoyuki Sugano, Dean Kremer and Cade Povich are locked into starting spots, and Kyle Gibson will likely get at least one more shot despite Tuesday night's debacle against the New York Yankees. But finding a fifth to replace Morton is easier said than done.
Grayson Rodriguez, Zach Eflin, Trevor Rogers, Albert Suarez, Chayce McDermott, Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells are all on the IL. Brandon Young got torched in his first taste of MLB action earlier this month. And most of the team's Triple-A rotation, especially Kyle Brnovich, Cameron Weston and Thaddeus Ward, sure don't look ready for a promotion right now.
So what's the solution? Your guess is as good as ours. Riding it out with Morton was untenable, if only for the PR hit. But that doesn't change anything about the reality Baltimore is facing with its rotation right now; Morton kept getting the ball for a reason, and O's fans may find out all too well moving forward.