Red Sox Trade Rumors: Orioles’ Charlie Morton Linked To AL East Rival

Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow’s quest for starting pitching ahead of the July 31 MLB trade deadline could take him to Baltimore. Unless he gets detoured by his colleagues in the Bronx.

Among the pitchers on Breslow’s radar is Orioles right-hander Charlie Morton. Problem is, a lot of teams have Morton on their radar.

“It seems very likely that Charlie Morton (3.47 ERA last 12 appearances) will be traded, within a relatively thin starting pitching market with a lot of teams looking for rotation help — the Padres, Yankees, maybe the Mets or Astros; a number of teams have expressed interest,” ESPN’s Buster Olney wrote Tuesday.

“In the past, Morton has had a preference to pitch for a team closer to the East Coast and his Florida home, but he doesn’t control that. O’s GM Mike Elias does,” Olney added.

And that’s not all.

“Teams love Charlie Morton — who has a very positive postseason history and who’s been solid following a slow start — and he’s drawing a lot of interest on the trade market. Many teams inquiring,” the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reported Tuesday.

Morton, 41, is 5-8 with a 5.58 ERA this season in 21 games (15 starts). But the 18-year veteran knows his way around the mound. He’s a two-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion.

On top of that, he’s making $15 million this year and will be a free agent following the season, making him an affordable short-term rental.

The Red Sox are in the market for starting pitching after losing Hunter Dobbins to a season-ending torn ACL and placing Tanner Houck back on the injured list this week.