Braves Rumors: 3 pitchers who could replace Charlie Morton if he retires

1. RHP Jack Flaherty (Baltimore Orioles)

The history of Alex Anthopoulos and the Braves’ recent history suggests that the organization isn’t going to break the bank on guys like Blake Snell, Aaron Nola, Julio Urias or any of the top names who are going to be available on the starting pitcher market in free agency. Yet, there could still be a desire to upgrade from Morton. 

Upgrading from Morton to replace the veteran while also not paying top-dollar on the open market is doable, but it requires taking a big gamble in free agency on a player who has flashed high-end potential but has lost his way a bit as of late. That’s precisely the case with Jack Flaherty. 

Flaherty, who was acquired by the Orioles from the Cardinals at the trade deadline, has been wildly inconsistent in the 2023 season. Between Baltimore and St. Louis over 23 starts, the right-hander has a 4.73 ERA and 1.55 WHIP overall. But in that, he has a month with a 3.03 ERA over five starts in addition to three months with an ERA of 5.32 or worse. Again, it’s been all over the map. 

Set to turn 28 years old in October, though, we’ve seen Flaherty – albeit prior to some injury issues – be absolutely dominant at the big-league level. In 2021, he had a 3.22 ERA and 1.06 WHIP. In 2019, he posted an unreal 2.75 ERA and 0.97 WHIP. There’s a reason that Flaherty was once believed to be a future perennial Cy Young contender. 

The Braves could roll the dice on a guy like Flaherty in the hopes that he can find that form or something close to it with a change of scenery and working with the coaching staff in Atlanta. Is that worth banking on to replace a steady presence like Morton? Maybe not. But it’s something that has to be considered at the very least if the club is indeed left looking for a replacement this offseason.