ST. PETERSBURG -- Charlie Morton admitted it’ll be “weird” when he takes the mound Friday against his old Astros teammates.

Morton, who spent the past two seasons in Houston and closed out Game 7 of the World Series in 2017, will be making his first start for the Rays after signing a two-year, $30 million deal in the offseason.

“It’s unavoidable,” Morton said, of feeling a little emotional facing his old club."‘It’s a group of guys that I care a lot about. It’s an organization that I was a part of, so to pitch against them, I fully expect to feel some emotion. I think that’s normal.”

It isn’t the first time Morton will be pitching against his former team in his first start with his new club. In 2009, Morton’s Pirates debut came against his old Braves team. Despite the emotions involved facing former teammates, Morton doesn’t see it as a challenge.

“It’s hard to classify what it is exactly,” Morton said. “Just that there’s an element of emotion that’s attributed to the start that wouldn’t be there if I was pitching against a team I didn’t know on a personal level. Whether or not that’s a challenge or benefit, I don’t know.”

Morton is coming off his best season at the big league level. The 35-year old finished with a 15-3 record with a career-best 3.13 ERA last season and earned his first All-Star game selection. When looking for a veteran presence to join a young clubhouse, Morton was the top choice for the Rays. The two sides came to an agreement during the Winter Meetings, and Morton is slated to be the No. 2 starter, behind only American League Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, in the Tampa Bay rotation.

“I’m excited to get on the field, get across the line with these guys and get games under out belt,” Morton said. “I think we’re ready to go out there and establish ourselves quick and get something going quick that will carry us into the middle of the season. Where we’re legitimately competing in this division, and try and win it. I think that’s the goal here.”

Leading up to the game, Morton joked that he expects some playful words to be exchanged with his old teammates.

“I’m trying to be a pro,” Morton said, with a smile. “I’m trying to avoid that. Maybe loosen the vibe. I’m not really sure what’s good and bad in that situation. I try to not make a big deal about it. If anything it’s a good thing that there are people in this game that I respect. There’s nothing bad about that at all.”

All in all, Morton knows that Friday’s start will be a special one.

“Those relationships aren’t going to change,” Morton said. “I’ll be friends with those guys, baseball or no baseball. Those were some really awesome times and I’ll always remember those for as long as I live.”