Morton made four starts for the Phillies in April before suffering a torn left hamstring on April 23 that ended his season. He struck out 19 batters in 17 1/3 innings and posted two quality starts prior to the injury.
The signing gives the Astros the top two ground-ball starting pitchers in the Majors, as left-hander Dallas Keuchel and Morton rank first and second, respectively, in career ground-ball to fly-ball ratio among active pitchers with at least 800 innings. Keuchel carries a 2.84 career mark while Morton owns a 2.48 mark.
Brian McTaggart has covered the Astros since 2004, and for MLB.