Charlie Morton is set to make his Detroit Tigers debut against his former team.
The Detroit Tigers made a buzzer-beating trade at the 2025 MLB trade deadline when they swung a last-second deal with the Baltimore Orioles for veteran Charlie Morton.
Morton was acquired from the Orioles on Thursday, July 31st. And now, according to Evan Woodberry of MLive.com, the Tigers are planning to start him against the Philadelphia Phillies, his former team, on Sunday, August 3rd.
RHP Charlie Morton will start for the Tigers on Sunday.
— Evan Woodbery (@evanwoodbery) August 1, 2025
Rookie RHP Troy Melton had previously been slated to start the series finale in Philadelphia. He'll now be in the bullpen.
The other two scheduled starters -- Flaherty tonight, Skubal tomorrow -- remain the same.
The 41-year-old right-hander is slated to make his Tigers debut against the Phillies, one of the top teams in the NL. He previously spent time in Philadelphia, pitching one season with the club in 2016, where he made four starts and had a 4.15 ERA.
While it was a very brief stint, the 18-year veteran did make a stop in Philadelphia in the middle of his career. He's made 20 appearances against the Phillies in his big league career, and has a 5-7 record with a 4.81 RA and 118 strikeouts.
This upcoming start will be his 21st outing against Philadelphia, and his first since August of 2024, when he was a member of the Atlanta Braves.
Morton, this season, has a 5.42 ERA, but it's a deceiving number thanks to his first six starts this season. Through those six outings, Morton had a 10.36 ERA and was 0-6.
MORE: Tigers lost out to Mets on trade for Cardinals' Ryan Helsley
But, in the following 17 starts, he has a 7-2 record and a 3.86 ERA. While it's not his best season in the majors, his production following his first six starts is more than enough to be encouraged by.
If there was something to be wary of, in his five starts in July, Morton has a 4.91 ERA. But, he has a 3-1 record and three quality starts during that timeframe. He's prone to allowing runs to score, but has been going deep enough into games.
He was a cheap last-second starting pitcher to acquire who has postseason experience. While not the flashiest move of the deadline, Morton is a nice pickup for a young Tigers team looking to make a postseason push in 2025.
His debut in a Tigers uniform will come against the Phillies, one of his former teams. It's a tough matchup in his first outing as a member of the Tigers.
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Category: Baseball
