41-year-old veteran Morton returns to Atlanta in the final week of the regular season

Charlie Morton, the 41-year-old pitcher with two World Series titles, made a surprising comeback to the Atlanta Braves during the final week of the regular season. This is his third stint with the Braves, and it is widely seen as potentially the last chapter of his 18-year career.

Morton was drafted by the Braves in 2002 and made his debut with them in 2008. However, he spent most of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 2017, he won the World Series with the Houston Astros. After returning to the Braves in 2021, he secured another World Series ring and demonstrated consistent performance from 2021 to 2024, maintaining an ERA of 3.87 and starting at least 30 games each season.

Notably, Morton had considered retirement at the age of 34, stating, "I didn’t expect to keep pitching for six or seven more seasons." Nevertheless, he ended up pitching four more seasons with the Braves. This year, he played for the Orioles and Tigers, though his overall performance was disappointing.

However, just today, the Braves unexpectedly announced they had signed Morton, surprising and delighting many. Regarding this signing, head coach Brian Snitker said, "We just signed him, so I don’t have any specific plans yet. I spoke with him on the phone a few days ago and never expected things to develop this way."

Morton’s return to Atlanta is expected to be to conclude his major league career where it all began.