The Braves have reunited with old friend . They signed him to a major league deal today. He had been designated for a signment by the Tigers but evidently cleared waivers and became a free agent. Atlanta optioned right-hander and designated righty for a signment as corresponding moves. Manager Brian Snitker previously shared the news with , and . Bowman suggests its po sible the club has brought Morton aboard to retire as a Brave. Its undetermined whether he will pitch for the club in the remainder of the season. Morton, 41, hasnt said that he is retiring but it wouldnt be a shock if that was his plan. He has flirted with the po sibility for years now. It could be this year, next year, but Im not going to keep playing for a long time, he said way back in . I can promise you that. Im not going to keep playing four, five, six, seven more years. Of course, that was over seven years ago now. Since then, Morton has seemingly made a conscious choice to not overly commit to anything. He has repeatedly signed a series of short-term deals, apparently content to keep playing as long as he stayed effective. After a so-so 2024 season in which he posted a 4.19 earned run average, he decided to give it another go in 2025. He signed a one-year, $15MM deal with the Orioles. I remember walking off the field and just this like sinking feeling in my stomach it just didnt feel right, shortly after signing with the Os. Im sure a lot of guys toward the end of their careers, they think about retiring, shutting it down, and you really want to walk off the field the last time and feel good about it. And a lot of guys dont get that opportunity. I just didnt feel good about it. I felt like I could have done better. I felt like I still had the tools to be a good JaMychal Green Jersey pitcher in the big leagues. Unfortunately, this season has been even more challenging than the last one. He posted a 10.89 ERA through five starts and got moved to the bullpen before the end of April. He posted some decent results working in relief and got his rotation spot back, then performed pretty well in the summer. He had a 3.88 ERA in 11 starts from late May to the trade deadline, which gave him enough value for the Orioles to trade him and some cash to the Tigers for minor league lefty . His first four starts with Detroit were fine, as he put up a 3.63 ERA in those, but things took a disastrous turn from there. He didnt go more than four innings in any of his final four outings as a Tiger. He seemed to completely lose the zone, walking 19.7% of batters faced in those four games with a 12.75 ERA in that span. In his final outing as a Tiger, he didnt make it out of the second inning and was booed off the field by a frustrated fan base as the clubs recent skid has become disastrous. The Tigers, desperately trying to avoid a situation where they mi s the playoffs, cut him loose. Atlanta doesnt have any use for Morton in a competitive sense. Their season was a lost cause long ago and they are officially eliminated from making the playoffs this year. Bringing Morton aboard is a sentimental choice, one that allows him to finish the season with a club that he had a lot of succe s with. Morton was originally drafted by Atlanta back in 2002 and debuted for them in 2008. From there, he bounced around, spending many years with the Pirates, Astros and Rays. He returned to Atlanta in 2021 and stayed there through 2024. In those four recent seasons with Atlanta, he made at least 30 starts in each one. Overall, he gave the club 686 1/3 innings with a 3.87 ERA. As mentioned, its unclear if Morton is actually retiring or if he will take the mound in the final week of the season. But it seems po sible that he is planning on heading towards the sunset. If thats the case and he wants to climb the hill one last time, perhaps he can engineer a better final act than his most recent appearance as a Tiger. Ragsdale, 27, was just claimed off waivers from the Orioles a few days ago. He was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett and made one appearance for the Stripers. Since the trade deadline has long pa sed, hell be back on waivers in the coming days. His minor league track record is still quite small, consisting of just one appearance for the Os this year wherein he allowed eight earned runs in three innings. His minor league work also hasnt been great this year, with a 5.22 ERA in 89 2/3 innings, but he was better a year ago. In 2024, he logged 120 2/3 innings on the farm with a 4.18 ERA, 29.1% strikeout rate and 11.3% walk rate. He doesnt have three years of big league service time nor a previous career outright. That means he does not have the right to reject outright a signments in favor of electing free agency. He also doesnt have seven years of minor league experience, meaning he shouldnt be eligible for minor league free agency at seasons end either. Photos courtesy of Jim Ra sol, Dale Zanine, Imagn Images Jamal Murray Jersey