Charlie Morton, a right-handed pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, is done for the remainder of the 2016 due to the need for surgery, according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. The 32-year-old has a torn left hamstring.
Morton left the game against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 23, 2016 with a strained left hamstring. He dropped down a sacrifice bunt and fell to the ground on his way to first base. Because of the injury, the righty made way for reliever Brett Oberholtzer. Initially, the injury only looked as if it would keep Morton off the diamond for a few weeks, but it has suddenly turned into a much bigger deal.
Philadelphia placed Morton on the 15-day disabled list on April 24, 2016. However, the situation became very serious when Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said that the MRI on the hamstring "wasn't as good as we were hoping for."
Just one day later, the news got as bad as it could have for the Phillies and Morton. The news came out that Morton needs hamstring surgery and will be done for the rest of the season. Morton will have his surgery on Monday.
Morton, a third round pick by the Atlanta Braves in the 2002 MLB Draft, will finish the 2016 season 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA across 17.1 innings (four games). The right-hander walked eight, struck out 19 batters and added a 1.327 WHIP.
Expect Adam Morgan or Oberholtzer to take the place of Morton in the starting rotation for the Phillies. Morgan, a 26-year-old, made 15 starts for the Phillies last season, while Obertholtzer, 26, made eight starts for the Houston Astros across the 2015 season.
As for the Phillies starting rotation, they have Jeremy Hellickson, Aaron Nola, Jerad Eickhoff and Vince Velasquez from the one-to-four slot. A fifth spot will be filled sooner than later. Hellickson is the only veteran in the rotation at 29, while Eickhoff is 24, Velasquez is 23 and Nola is 22 years old.
Morton will made $8 million on the disabled list this season, but will be a free agent this offseason.