The Orioles entered the offseason hoping to add one starting pitcher and potentially two to their depth. On Friday night, they completed that checklist by signing veteran right-hander Charlie Morton to a one-year, major league deal, the team announced.

The contract is for $15 million, a source told The Baltimore Banner, as first reported by MLB.com.

It’s the second starting pitching signing for the Orioles this winter, after the team signed Tomoyuki Sugano to a one-year, $13 million deal.

Morton, 41, has pitched over 140 innings in seven of the last eight seasons, the exception being the shortened 2020 pandemic season. Last season, with the Braves, Morton pitched to a 4.19 ERA in 30 starts. The two-time All-Star has also won two World Series titles, one with the Astros in 2017 and another with the Braves in 2021.

And, while bringing in Morton adds a workhorse to the rotation — something general manager Mike Elias has done in the past with Kyle Gibson and Jordan Lyles — it does not replace the top-tier arm they are losing with Corbin Burnes departing. Burnes, who spent one season with the Orioles, signed a six-year, $220 million deal with the Diamondbacks last month.

But Elias said at the winter meetings that he did not necessarily feel the need to bring in an ace, that he felt the Orioles had the talent already in the system.

“I like where the rotation is starting from this year,” Elias said then. “We are trying to augment it, trying to supplement it, trying to fortify it.”

Morton’s addition should do just that. He’ll join a rotation that will include Zach Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez at the top, with Sugano and Dean Kremer at the back end. Albert Suárez, Trevor Rogers, Cade Povich, Chayce McDermott and Brandon Young are also options, with Tyler Wells and Kyle Bradish, who had season-ending elbow surgeries last year, expected back midseason.

This gives the Orioles multiple options. They could go to a six-man rotation, as they did in the second half of the 2023 season. The Orioles could move some arms to relief roles, supplementing a bullpen that lost Danny Coulombe and Jacob Webb. They were two of their top contributors over the past two seasons, but both spent time on the injured list last year. Coulombe’s option was not picked up, and Webb was non-tendered and signed with the Rangers. Suárez, who pitched in just about every spot last season, could be the best option to move to replace them.

It also gives the Orioles the option to send young arms such as Povich, McDermott and Young or struggling pitchers such as Rogers to Triple-A to develop. Or, some could be used as trade chips to pick up that ace or another reliever. Elias said at the winter meetings that he would not rule out trading a major leaguer for a major leaguer, and having extra pitchers could allow him to do so.

Banner reporter Andy Kostka contributed to this report.

This story has been updated.