Even after making 30 or more starts the last six full seasons and even after having thrown over 2,100 big league innings, before the Orioles could sign him to a one-year contract, right-handed starting pitcher Charlie Morton had to decide if he wanted to sign with any team.

In his first interview with O’s reporters today, via a team Zoom call, he said this was not the first time he had pondered retirement. But he also explained that as last season ended, he seemed to want to keep going.

Morton, 41, went 8-10 with a 4.19 ERA for the Braves and now has signed a one-year deal for $15 million with the Orioles. Over the past two years, he’s thrown 328 2/3 innings to an ERA of 3.92 and a .248 batting average against with 24 quality starts.

“I think I’ve been debating that decision every offseason for the past four or five years frankly,” Morton told the media today. “It was definitely toward the end of last year. We were in a tight race for the Wild Card spot and I felt my year hadn’t gone as I hoped.

“I really wasn’t thinking about it a whole lot. I was thinking more about trying to take it all in because I thought that might be my last year.

Single game tickets to go on sale Thursday, January 16 and include expanded Bird Bath Splash Zone

The Orioles today announced that tickets for all 2025 regular season home games at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, excluding the Home Opener, will go on sale to the general public on Thursday, January 16, at 10 a.m. ET. Tickets, including for the Bird Bath Splash Zone, which will expand to include Sections 84 and 86, can be purchased at Orioles.com/Tickets. The club also announced its 2025 promotional schedule, which is highlighted by six bobbleheads, multiple t-shirt nights, an Orioles Bowling Shirt, Yacht Rock Cap, Cowboy Hat, Birdland Hawaiian Shirt, and the first-ever Star Wars Weekend.

Fans who subscribe to the free Orioles Insider email newsletter will receive an exclusive invitation to participate in an online pre-sale beginning Wednesday, January 15, at 10 a.m. Fans can subscribe online at Orioles.com/Newsletter. Due to high demand, tickets for the Orioles Home Opener on Monday, March 31, against the Boston Red Sox at 3:05 p.m. are available exclusively to Birdland Members. For more information, or to purchase a 2025 Birdland Membership, call 888-848-BIRD or visit Orioles.com/Memberships.

This year, giveaways will be available to fans of all ages, while supplies last, unless otherwise noted.

The bobbleheads will include Orioles Owner and Control Person DAVID RUBENSTEIN (April 19), COLTON COWSER (May 2) and GUNNAR HENDERSON (May 4) as part of Star Wars Weekend, GRAYSON RODRIGUEZ (May 31), JORDAN WESTBURG (July 28), and ADLEY RUTSCHMAN (September 24).

O’s lefty reliever Keegan Akin had a strong 2022 season with a 3.20 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. Then he dealt with lower back issues much of the next season and in 23 2/3 innings had an ERA of 6.85 and 1.78 WHIP. He pitched just two innings after June 28.

So fans might not have known what to expect of him in 2024. At Birdland Caravan last January, Akin told reporters he was finally healthy and feeling good but also was not taking a roster spot for granted. He would have to earn it.

He sure did and pitched better than probably many people gave him credit for.

His season was very solid, especially in the second half and he ranked among the best relievers in the game in some expected stats.

He was good both home and away and against both left and right-handed batters.

Our hearts are heavy tonight as we mourn the passing of former Oriole, BRIAN MATUSZ.

A staple in our clubhouse from 2009-2016, Brian was beloved throughout Birdland, and his passion for baseball and our community was unmatched. He dedicated his time to connecting with any fan he could, was a cherished teammate, and always had a smile on his face.

Brian’s family and loved ones are in our thoughts and prayers at this difficult time.

In Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson the Orioles have two young, talented players that could be considered faces of this franchise. Two players that were their first two selections in the 2019 MLB Draft. The first two players selected by Mike Elias after he was hired by the Orioles.

In the 2025 season, based off their play last year, the Orioles surely expect improvement from Rutschman after his disappointing second half. Henderson could improve too, but he had a season in 2024 that put him among the very best players in the game.

Can Gunnar find another gear?: Asking more out of Henderson based on his 2024, is asking a lot. He improved his batting line in each stat category, hitting .255/.325/.489/.814 in 2023 and last year that was .281/.364/.529/.893 as his OPS+ increased from 125 to 159.

How good was he in 2024? He was the third-best position player in baseball-reference Wins Above Replacement and ranked fifth in FanGraphs.com's WAR.

Via baseball-reference.com, Aaron Judge led all at 10.8 followed by Bobby Witt Jr. at 9.4 and then Henderson at 9.1. Juan Soto was fifth by the way, behind Jarren Duran at 7.9. Via FanGraphs, it was Judge leading the way at 11.2, Witt at 10.4 and Shohei Ohtani at 9.1 with Soto at 8.1 and Henderson at 8.0.

The Baltimore Orioles today announced that DON ROVAK will join the organization as the Chief Revenue Officer, focusing on revenue generation through ticket and corporate sales in both Baltimore and Sarasota, Fla., and creating local economic impact for the city, state, and surrounding area.

“We are excited to have such an incredible talent and industry leader join the Orioles at such a thrilling time for our organization,” shared CATIE GRIGGS, Orioles President of Business Operations. “His expertise, passion, and creativity will be a tremendous asset to our club for years to come.”

Rovak joins the Orioles after just completing his 17^th year with AMB Sports and Entertainment, a company comprised of the National Football League’s Atlanta Falcons, Major League Soccer’s Atlanta United FC, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta Drive GC, and PGA TOUR Superstore. With AMB Sports and Entertainment, Rovak’s responsibilities included Mercedes-Benz Stadium events, private events, and Falcons and Atlanta United ticket sales, service, and ticket operations departments.

Rovak has led the team that has sold out Mercedes-Benz Stadium for all Falcons games and United matches since its opening in 2017. He revolutionized benefits for Falcons season ticket members, including free tickets for road games, annual seat relocation, and pre-party invitations, among other enhancements. Under his supervision, in all seasons for Atlanta United, the team finished first in season tickets, group sales, and overall attendance. Additionally, Atlanta United holds many of the top single match attendance records in their short lifespan.

“I am thrilled to arrive in Baltimore, and to be a part of such a historic franchise with so much opportunity ahead,” shared Rovak. “I look forward to developing relationships with the fans and the corporate community as we embark on an exciting O’s season.”

We could call it a “two tiered” Orioles rotation at this point. They have two at the top right now in right-handers Zack Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez and three that follow that in some order.

As of today, Eflin or Rodriguez could get the Opening Day assignment with the other starting second.

Third through fifth in some combo, is expected to be Dean Kremer, Tomoyuki Sugano and Charlie Morton. That is how I stack it as of today, Kremer, Sugano and Morton fifth. Others may project Morton at No. 3 or Sugano at No. 3. Lot of options here. No lefties in this rotation, but they are in the depth behind this group currently with pitchers like southpaws Cade Povich and Trevor Rogers. Could one of that duo impact the Opening Day five? Of course, it’s baseball, changes and injuries happen. Always write your plans in January in pencil with a big eraser close by.

The Orioles hopes for Eflin are likely big. In 2023 he pitched to an ERA of 3.50 with 16 wins for Tampa Bay and finished sixth for the AL Cy Young award. Traded to the Orioles on July 26 last summer for three minor leaguers, he went 5-2 with a 2.60 ERA over nine starts.

With a combined 3.54 ERA and 1.054 WHIP the past two seasons producing an ERA+ of 115, he will be expected to pitch to that form for the 2025 Orioles.

Let’s get this part straight. Right-hander Charlie Morton is not the replacement for losing Corbin Burnes. Neither is righty Tomoyuki Sugano. No one is saying they are. No one is hinting at it or suggesting it in any way.

The Orioles may still add a pitcher they can slot closer to the top of their rotation and based on comments here, that would be welcome.

Nothing they have done in the last few days precludes that from happening. In my mind, maybe you have a different take, that is just as likely to happen today as it was before the Morton signing.

Where I think some fans slanting toward the negative over the Morton are missing the boat, is this addition could help the 2025 Orioles. No matter who slots at the top of their rotation.

Yes, he turned 41 in November and was the fourth-oldest pitcher in the majors last year. He’s also pitched to a 3.92 ERA since 2023, throwing 328 2/3 innings. No O’s pitcher on the team in those seasons, pitched that many innings. Even those in their 20s. His ERA for those seasons tops that of Dean Kremer and Grayson Rodriguez, both at 4.11 for the 2023-2024 seasons.

I’m dumping more mailbag questions into your laps. I'll handle the next batch.

We’ve pondered whether Zach Eflin or Grayson Rodriguez would be the No. 1 starter as the roster’s currently set, who’s the No. 5 starter, the chances that Jackson Holliday platoons, how much Heston Kjerstad plays, whether the Orioles trade for Luis Castillo, and if the Orioles are done making moves for position players.

Here are a few more. Share your answers with the class.

Does Nick Gordon have any shot at making the team in spring training?

On paper, it seems highly unlikely.

In this space yesterday I noted that Ryan Mountcastle would be expected to hit more home runs in 2025 as the Orioles are moving the left field fence closer to home plate at Camden Yards. This is after three years after they had moved the wall back nearly 30 feet from its original position.

Mountcastle hit 22 home runs in Baltimore during the 2021 season, the last one with the previous dimensions. He averaged a homer at Camden Yards every 12.77 at-bats that year. But then he hit just 28 total home homers from 2022 through 2024, hitting one every 24.86 at-bats.

I wondered how the entire team was impacted by the year-to-year home homer numbers.

Here are the stats on that from 2021 on:

Actually, the O’s got closer to their 2021 home stats each year, almost equaling them last season when the team hit 235 homers for the season, second-most in the major leagues to the Yankees' 237.

The Orioles today announced that they have agreed to terms with right-handed pitcher Charlie Morton on a one-year major league contract for the 2025 season.

Morton, 41, went 8-10 with a 4.19 ERA (77 ER/165.1 IP) with 154 hits (23 HR), 85 total runs, 65 walks (1 IBB), 18 hit batters, and 167 strikeouts in 30 games, all starts, for the Atlanta Braves last season. He is one of four pitchers to make at least 30 starts in each full season since 2018 (not including 2020), along with José Berríos, Patrick Corbin, and Aaron Nola. During the last four years with the Braves, he combined to go 45-34 with a 3.87 ERA (295 ER/686.1 IP).

Morton is a 17-year veteran with the Braves, Tampa Bay Rays, Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, and Pittsburgh Pirates. Between the five teams, he’s gone 138-123 with a 4.01 ERA (948 ER/2,125.2 IP) with 1,991 hits (203 HR), 1,045 total runs, 787 walks (25 IBB), 186 hit batters, and 2,047 strikeouts in 383 games (382 starts). His 138 wins are tied for the seventh most among active pitchers. He finished third in the American League Cy Young Award voting and received a vote for Most Valuable Player in 2019 with the Rays. Morton also made the All-Star team that year, marking his second straight All-Star season after doing so with the Astros in 2018.

A native of Flemington, NJ, Morton was originally selected by the Braves in the third round of the 2002 First-Year Player Draft out of Joel Barlow (CT) High School. He was acquired by Pittsburgh along with Gorkys Hernández and Jeff Locke in exchange for Nate McLouth on June 3, 2009. Philadelphia acquired him for David Whitehead on December 12, 2015. Morton then signed MLB contracts with Houston, Tampa Bay, and Atlanta.

To make room on the 40-man roster, catcher René Pinto was designated for assignment. The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 40 players.

The Orioles’ rotation is deeper tonight, though also more likely to remain in-house for an Opening Day starter.

Charlie Morton has signed a one-year contract, with an industry source confirming the guaranteed value at $15 million.

Morton is a 17-year veteran who turned 41 in November, making him the logical choice to serve as leader of the rotation. He’s been durable, making 33, 31, 30 and 30 starts over the past four seasons.

The right-hander is one of four pitchers with at least 30 starts in each full season since 2018 – not including the shortened 2020 - along with José Berríos, Patrick Corbin, and Aaron Nola.

Where Morton slots will be determined later, but he could settle behind Zach Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez. Dean Kremer and Japanese right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano should round out the unit.

Today a look at a few more notes and items we can expect to see during the 2025 season.

The return of this pitcher: The No. 11 overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, right-hander Grayson Rodriguez should return as a full-time member of the Baltimore rotation.

In 2024, he made what turned out to be his last start on July 31. He was scheduled to pitch Aug. 6 in the series opener at Rogers Centre in Toronto but was scratched just minutes before first pitch with what was later described as right lat/teres discomfort.

Getting this now 25-year-old right-hander back is a big lift for the rotation, which loses ace righty Corbin Burnes. Rodriguez went 13-4 with a 3.86 ERA over 20 starts and the Orioles went 14-6 in those games.

He gave up two earned runs or less 14 times. And if you could take away his two worst starts last year, where he allowed seven runs each time, he would have finished the season with an ERA of 3.02.

Now that 2025 has arrived on the calendar, can the baseball season be that far behind?

It will be here sooner than we think, with spring training arriving next month, the first spring game set for Feb. 22 and Opening Day 2025 scheduled for March 27 with the Orioles at Rogers Centre in Toronto.

Here are a few things to ponder and look forward to during this coming season.

The filling out of the roster: Will the O’s add a front-line starting pitcher? If they add someone or more than one, does that happen via free agency or via a trade?

Last season it was not until Feb. 1 that the deal for Corbin Burnes was announced.

With right-hander Corbin Burnes off to Arizona and no ace pitchers still to be had via free agency, the Orioles may have pivoted toward a pitcher who made nine appearances for them in the 2023 season and one more in that postseason.

That is 29-year-old right-hander Jack Flaherty, coming off a strong 2024 season that began with Detroit and ended with him getting a ring with the Los Angeles Dodgers, his hometown team.

Per The Athletic, “both sides would be open to a reunion after Flaherty’s bounce-back season.”

Between the two clubs last year, he made 28 starts throwing 162 innings – the second-most of his career. He went 13-7 with a 3.17 ERA and 1.068 WHIP. He posted strong walk and strikeout numbers, walking 2.1 per every nine innings (a 5.9 percent walk rate) and fanning 10.8 (29.9 percent).

Among qualified pitchers last year (the 58 that had 162 or more innings) he finished third in the majors in strikeouts/nine, tied for eighth in WHIP, tied for 13^th in batting average against (.223) and 13^th in MLB in ERA.

The year 2025 is upon us. Break out the resolutions and other promises that will be broken like a hockey player’s front teeth.

I usually avoid them but figured I’d come up with a list and invite everyone here to share their own. They can be personal and professional. They can be Orioles related. They can come back to bite you now that they’re documented.

Don’t be ashamed if the elliptical that you kept talking about before Christmas is used to dry your cotton laundry. Or if a vow to avoid having your favorite team dictate your mood is shattered 10 minutes after pitchers and catchers report. These things happen. You’re in a safe space here.

Here we go. I typed softly in case you’re hungover.

No more whining about travel.

The Orioles have made the following roster move:

• Agreed to terms on a 2025 minor league contract with INF/OF Nick Gordon.

Some projections when free agency was just beginning had outfielder Anthony Santander getting $100 million and maybe more whenever he signs his next contract.

Free to sign with any team, Santander is still out there for any club to sign, but maybe some recent deals provide a framework for his next one.

As free agency opened up, MLBTradeRumors.com projected that Santander, ranked as its No. 9 free agent, would get a four-year deal for $80 million. ESPN projected he would sign for three years and $69 million. FanGraphs.com predicted five years for $100 million and The Athletic put it at five years and $105 million.

An Oriole since the 2016 Rule 5 draft and for parts of eight big league seasons, Santander is expected to sign elsewhere, especially after the Orioles added outfielder Tyler O’Neill via free agency.

For his 2024 season on offense, Santander hit .235/.308/.506/.814 with 25 doubles, two triples, 44 homers, 91 runs and 102 RBIs.

After a few days away, we’re back today with a new blog and hopefully some fresh thoughts and takes to lead us into the New Year.

For now, a few facts and opinions.

Fact: O’s 2024 ace pitcher Corbin Burnes is headed to Arizona to pitch for the 2025 season.

Opinion: The Orioles' current rotation, even minus Burnes, could be solid but is now missing the pitcher who finished fifth for the American League Cy Young Award. So how will the O’s make up for this loss? For me, it’s never a one-for-one type thing in that they add this player to replace that player. All players they use in 2025 could partially help replace those not back.

There are no longer any aces left via the free agent market but perhaps the team could deal for a top pitcher, as it did with Burnes last Feb. 1.

Rather than ask (beg?) for more mailbag questions, I decided today to pose a few of my own.

Here are three for you to consider. Share your answers.

If the Orioles don’t acquire a No. 1 starter, should Zach Eflin or Grayson Rodriguez start on Opening Day?

Eflin has the edge in experience and track record. He’s also good, so the assignment wouldn’t be based only on those two factors.

The Rays named Eflin their Opening Day starter this year, and he held the Blue Jays to one run through five innings before the game unraveled for him in a five-run sixth. He surrendered three home runs in an 8-2 loss.