Report: Braves exercise $20 million option on Charlie Morton’s contract for the 2024 MLB season.

Charlie Morton’s $20 million option for the 2024 season has been exercised by the Atlanta Braves, according Jeff Passan of ESPN. Alongside Max Fried at the top of Atlanta’s rotation, Morton had a stellar 2023 campaign. With a 3.64 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, and 183 strikeouts in 163.1 innings across 30 starts, he recorded a 14–12 record. With a 104-58 record, the 39-year-old was a major contributor to the Braves’ victory in the National League East.

Nevertheless, a strain to his right index finger kept him from playing in his last regular season starts. He did not play in the postseason as the Braves lost the National League Division Series to the Philadelphia Phillies. Four of Morton’s sixteen seasons—he is a two-time World Series winner and two-time All-Star—have been in Atlanta. Before leaving for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2009–16, he started his career with the Braves in 2008. Morton played for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2016 following his time in Pittsburgh, and the Houston Astros from 2017 to 2018. After that, he played with the Tampa Bay Rays for two seasons (2019–20) before going back to the Braves, who had selected him in the 2002 draft.

With the Rays, Morton had his greatest season in 2019 with a 16-6 record, 3.05 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and 240 strikeouts in 194.2 innings over 33 starts. Morton will remain a leader in the rotation with Fried, Spencer Strider, and Bryce Elder now that he is expected back in 2024. But with him entering his 40th season, the Braves will probably have to exercise caution in how they handle his starts.