SARASOTA, Fla. -- Charlie Morton was the big free-agent acquisition the Rays made over the offseason, and it didn’t take long for the veteran pitcher to make an impact in the clubhouse.
“He’s smart as hell,” Blake Snell said of Morton. “There’s a lot to learn. I thought I knew a lot until he got here.”
Morton, who signed a two-year, $30 million deal in December, will serve as a veteran presence in a clubhouse that is filled with young players. He also gives the Rays another starting pitcher in a rotation that will feature Snell, Morton and Tyler Glasnow.
The 35-year-old made his first Grapefruit League start in Friday's 10-5 win over the Orioles. He retired all four batters he faced, striking out one and needing just 17 pitches to get through 1 1/3 innings of work.
“He looked just as advertised,” manager Kevin Cash said. “Really crisp.”
Getting to the second inning was a goal for Morton, as he had been going multiple innings during his live batting practice sessions in camp. In the second inning, Morton pitched to Orioles designated hitter Trey Mancini out of the stretch, just to simulate having runners on base.
“We accomplished our goals,” Morton said. “I went down and threw a couple more in the bullpen just to get a couple more, and felt good. I got what I needed to out of the day.”
Of the 17 pitches, Morton was sitting around 93-95 mph on his four-seam fastball. He threw a couple of two-seam fastballs that were clocked at 91 and he also threw a couple of breaking balls. The strikeout, against Rio Ruiz, came on a high fastball that was recorded at 95 mph.
“He’s awesome, man,” Rays infielder Daniel Robertson said. “The slider, curveball, whatever you want to call it, was looking real frisbee-ish, so that was good to see. It was good to get behind him.”
Morton said he was unsure of when he’ll pitch again because of the team’s off-day on Monday. If he doesn’t pitch Wednesday against Baltimore, then it appears likely that Morton will instead pitch Thursday against the Blue Jays.
“It’s always nice to cross the lines,” Morton said. “Go out there, compete and do what you love to do. And also, go out there with the guys, finally.”
Other notes
Guillermo Heredia, who was acquired from Seattle over the offseason, has impressed the Rays with his glove all throughout camp, but he showed off some of his power Friday against the Orioles, taking former Rays pitcher Alex Cobb deep to left field for a two-run home run in the first inning.
“He’s an exciting player,” Cash said. “He goes and gets it and when they’re both out there, [Kevin Kiermaier] and Heredia, it’s going to be tough to find grass with the baseball.”
Austin Meadows also had a home run Friday, taking Matt Wotherspoon deep in the fourth inning. The 23-year-old outfielder is now hitting .417 this spring. Robertson continues to impress as well, going 3-for-3 with two runs scored on Friday.
Up next
The Rays have two split-squad games on Saturday. The club hosts the Phillies in Port Charlotte, Fla., at 1:05 p.m. ET, with Tyler Glasnow scheduled for his second start of the spring. Matt Duffy will lead off for the first time, and Tommy Pham, Joey Wendle, Avisail Garcia, Robertson, Yandy Diaz, Emilio Bonifacio, Michael Perez and Andrew Velasquez are scheduled to be in the Rays' lineup in Port Charlotte.
In the other game, the Rays travel to Dunedin, Fla., to take on former Rays bench coach and new Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo. Wilmer Font gets the start in what will be his first appearance since a lat injury ended his season last June. Brandon Lowe, Willy Adames, Meadows, Nate Lowe, Heredia, Kean Wong, Jason Coats and Nick Ciuffo are scheduled to be in the Rays' lineup in Dunedin.