When the Detroit Tigers acquired veteran right-hander Charlie Morton from the Baltimore Orioles at the buzzer on the July 31 trade deadline, fan reactions were decidedly mixed.
Even with the addition of Chris Paddack from the Minnesota Twins, the Tigers could still use another starter after season-ending injuries to Jackson Jobe and Reese Olson decimated their rotation. Plenty of fans felt that president of baseball operations Scott Harris could have aimed a little higher than a 41-year-old whose wildly inconsistent performance had led to a 5.42 ERA and a 10.3% walk rate at the time of the trade.