Orioles signing Charlie Morton shows complete lack of trust in organizational depth

When the Baltimore Orioles announced that they had signed Tomoyuki Sugano, a 35 year old, 12 year veteran from Japan, nobody would have guessed that he would be younger of the pitchers that they were adding to their rotation. Sugano is six years younger than the newest Orioles starter, Charlie Morton, who comes to Baltimore with 17 years of major league experience. Morton will hopefully be a veteran leader who has won two World Series titles and can help show a young team how to take the next step.

While Morton's role on the team is pretty clear, his signing muddies the waters for several other Orioles pitchers. The O's already had 10 starting pitchers on the roster prior to signing Morton. The expected starters of Grayson Rodriguez, Zach Eflin, Tomoyuki Sugano, Cade Povich and Dean Kremer, are joined by Albert Suarez, Trevor Rogers, Chayce McDermott, Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells. Bradish and Wells will start the year on the IL and Wells should return to the bullpen when he is healthy. Suarez will also likely be back in the bullpen to help with the loss of Jacob Webb and Danny Coulombe.

The biggest loser from the Morton deal is Cade Povich. Povich dominated AAA last season but struggled in his debut with the Orioles. He was sent back to Norfolk to regain his confidence and it worked. Povich had a very good month of September and appeared primed for a breakout 2025 season, but now will enter spring training fighting just to make the roster. He has nothing left to prove at the minor league level. He showed he can be successful in the majors and he deserves a chance to prove himself with the Orioles.

Cade Povich and Chayce McDermott will have a tough time making the Orioles' roster out of spring training

Right behind Povich is his longtime teammate Chayce McDermott. He and Povich seemed to never be more than a step away from each other as they rose through the minors and McDermott also made his MLB debut last season. He only got to make one start before being sent back to Norfolk, where he too had a great year with a 3.78 ERA and 12.96 K/9. McDermott was set to start the 2025 season just one step away from returning to Baltimore, but now another hurdle has been thrown in front of him.

Even Trevor Rogers has to be disappointed with the effect the Morton signing has on his chances of returning to the majors. After a great rookie season in Miami, Rogers had struggled ever since and was an absolute nightmare for the Orioles last season. He was quickly demoted to the minors (just not quick enough) where his struggles continued. The Orioles told Rogers they had a plan for him and early reports were positive. Even though Rogers' contract is for two more season and the O's signed Morton to yet another one year deal, it feels like they're already moving on from the 27 year old who they gave up so much to get.

Morton is still a good pitcher that brings winning experience to Baltimore and he can help the Orioles win, but the teams biggest strength is its youth, and the youth can't get better without playing. Povich and McDermott have risen through the minors and deserve to fight for a shot with the big club. If the Orioles aren't going to trade these guys to get an ace, they need to play them.