On the heels of a 83-79 season that saw the Cubs finish just outside of the NL playoff picture, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and his front office appear poised to be aggressive this offseason in their pursuit of returning the club to the postseason for the first time in a 162-game campaign since 2018. Chicago already shocked the baseball world this offseason by hiring Craig Counsell to manage the club on a record-setting contract and has been connected to high-profile free agents such as NPB arms Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shota Imanaga, and Yuki Matsui as well as center fielder Cody Bellinger and first baseman Rhys Hoskins, to say nothing of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani.
In addition to the rumors swirling around the Cubs and many of the league’s top free agents, the Cubs have been connected to many of the league’s top trade candidates including Padres outfielder Juan Soto, Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, and even Brewers right-hander Corbin Burnes. At the center of many of those hypothetical trade discussions has been young slugger Christopher Morel, whose name has appeared in early offseason trade rumors so frequently that MLBTR’s Anthony Franco ranked him #22 in his list of the Top 25 Offseason Trade Candidates.
Morel made his MLB debut back in May of 2022, just before his 23rd birthday. The youngster initially broke onto the club’s roster due to an injury to Jason Heyward, which provided Morel with the opportunity to get semi-regular reps in center field with the big league club despite having never played above the Double-A level to that point. Morel made the most of his opportunity, sticking on the club’s roster throughout the rest of the 2022 season and slashing .235/.308/.433 (108 wRC+) in 113 games while splitting time between center field, second base, third base, and shortstop.
That above-average offensive production and impressive versatility in Morel’s rookie season gave him the look of a potential big league regular, though there were certainly flaws in his profile. Morel was a well below average defender in center and seemed to be a fringy defender at both third base and shortstop as well, despite a solid showing at second base. On top of the defensive question marks, it was fair to wonder if Morel’s above-average slash line was carried by a hot first half; the youngster slashed just .194/269/.376 in 184 trips to the plate during the second half in 2022. Between that late-season slump and his 32.2% strikeout rate, which was sixth-highest in the majors among players with at least 400 plate appearances that year, it was fair to wonder if Morel’s production would be sustainable entering his sophomore season.
The questions about Morel’s glove were only exacerbated by the signing of Dansby Swanson, who slotted in at shortstop and kicked Nico Hoerner over to second base in doing so. With Hoerner now an obvious everyday solution at second base, Morel entered the 2023 season without a clear role on the big league club and started the season at Triple-A. He tore the cover off the ball with a comical .330/.425/.730 slash line in 29 games with the club’s Iowa affiliate before the Cubs had seen enough to bring him up to the big leagues. Though he logged occasional time at all three outfield spots, second base, third base, and shortstop, Morel spent much of the season as Chicago’s primary DH.
Morel took to his new role quite well, slashing .247/.313/.508 (119 wRC+) with 26 home runs across just 429 trips to the plate. Only Aaron Judge, J.D. Martinez, Yordan Alvarez, and Nolan Gorman hit more home runs in under 500 trips to the plate this year. What’s more, Morel’s .260 ISO ranked sixteenth among players with at least 400 big league plate appearances in 2023, ranking just behind Jorge Soler and just ahead of Ronald Acuna Jr. Though Morel’s strikeout rate of 31% is still high enough to raise plenty of eyebrows, the youngster managed to establish himself as a quality big-league power bat as the Cubs’ regular DH.
As previously mentioned, Morel has found himself at the center of trade rumors this offseason with the Cubs potentially in line to be aggressive this winter. Reports have suggested Morel as a potential piece of the return for both Soto and Alonso should the Cubs look to deal for either player, though other reports have indicated the Cubs might be hesitant to include Morel in a deal for a rental piece.
The decision on whether or not to shop Morel this offseason is an interesting one for the Cubs. The youngster is not yet eligible for arbitration and figures to remain under team control for five more seasons before being first eligible for free agency after the 2028 season. His power-oriented bat could prove crucial for the Cubs in 2024, particularly after the 2023 team landed middle-of-the-pack in terms of both ISO and home runs this past season, and it’s always possible that a player as young as Morel manages to find another gear and break out. That sort of upside could make it hard for the Cubs to part with Morel, especially given the amount of team control he has remaining.
That being said, with Nico Hoerner locked in at second base for the next three seasons while Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki are set to patrol the outfield corners for that same term, Morel seems unlikely to find a long-term position in Chicago— at least, unless he takes to a new position this winter. What’s more, Morel’s propensity for striking out combined with just average walk rates for his career give him an uncertain floor as a player; if his power production dips, it’s possible the Cubs could be looking at a roughly league average offensive contributor taking up their DH slot on most days. That risk could make it sensible for Chicago to attempt to sell high on Morel this offseason.
What do MLBTR readers think about Chicago’s dilemma? Should the Cubs look to move Morel now, given his value may never be higher? Or should they hold onto him in hopes of a breakout that could make him an impact player in spite of his limited defensive value? Have your say in the poll below:
(poll link for app users)
Don’t trade him for a rental? Morel has tons of control, and while I am not bullish on him, trading him for a player without team control is silly. He provides current value for your team, meaning you’re adding less net value if you trade him and likely negative net in 2025 and beyond.
Cheap power with defensive Versatility. Seems like someone they should keep
Just because he can play numerous positions doesn’t mean that he should.
Agreed. But, it all depends on whom else they and are they any better. Don’t want to see them trading him now only to regret it in a year or two.
Absolutely not. He can still put up 25+ homeruns he might not have a permanent position but if they trade him then miss out on Ohtani then they’ll have a DH spot to fill.
Kid has a cannon arm and runs well. He’s an athlete. You can’t tell me he cant be coached into a serviceable 3B or OF. Don’t give away more talent bc you can’t develop young players.
1,500+ innings at 3B thoughout several levels and coaches. Sail throws.
But not consistent innings
They’re not getting Ohtani anyway, but I agree with everything else you say.
Yeah I know. I’m not getting my hopes up. They’re still pushing hard for him though.
Honestly, I don’t think it’s in their best interests to sign Ohtani.
He won’t pitch at all this year and he’s already 30. Going to demand a huge contract. They are better off using the team they have now and building off it.
Morel has a lot of raw talent. Some good coaching would go a long way.
Ross was like a monkey with a machine gun in how he used him. I wanna see what being coached by Counsell can do for him.
If I were them, I would not.
No, not unless they get a ridiculously good offer.
Yep. For the right price he- like anyone- should be available, but it would be a pretty high price
Stupid, bad teams trade this type of young talent. This is a Litmus test for the current Cubbie rebuild.
That is my fear as a Cubs’ fan- I don’t trust them to not make a stupid and bad move lol
Trade him…the Cubs need Soto’s bat. They aren’t going to sign Ohtani.
So then your answer is trade him only for Soto?
Short answer, yes. Long answer, I’d prefer the Cubs’ trade chips over the Yankees.
Not getting Soto for Morel.
I think the Cubs have the better prospects than the Yankees. Seattle isn’t going to part with their group of pitchers…
I would love to see Soto on the Cubs but Morel is not the type or level of player to be the headline of a deal for Soto.
The Padres will want a starting pitcher or at the very least a starting position player that is a MLB ready player or an MLB ready player.
Morel is a DH. At best a league average player. Not even a remote chance of being an impact player.
Have to headline the deal with someone that can step into their lineup at a position of need for them and immediately provide impact. Certainly not to the level that Soto does because that is an extreme longshot to see any player ever become that good, but more impact than is possible for Morel to provide.
If you said PCA as a headliner with Morel as the secondary piece I would say you on the right track.
I’d like to see him come back in a deal. Even if he isn’t the center piece
You ain’t getting PCA!
Getting Happ and Morel is more likely than PCA and tossing in two pitchers but I still think the Cubs would be better off passing on Soto and instead going for Pete Alonso.
The Cubs need a First Baseman more than another OF’er.
Happ and Morel for Soto should tempt the Padres.
Padres are supposedly in on Rhys Hoskins for 1B. He’d look good at Wrigley, too.
You clearly haven’t watched Morel play because he absolutely has the talent and ability to be an impact player.
I personally wouldn’t move 5 years of Morel for one year of Soto.
Obviously, Morel isn’t going to be the offensive player Soto is but he has a ton of defensive versatility, is dynamic on the bases and has legitimate 30+ home run power in his bat.
I think Morel is the type of guy you talk about trading after his first year of arbitration unless the roster shakes out differently.
Don’t see that happening unless the Padres trade Cronenworth.
Hoskins on a pillow contract to the Cubs makes more sense.
Morel graded out as a 40 FV. Prospect. He has 2 straight seasons in the majors that fulfilled that below MLB average grade. If you think he is an impact player you haven’t watched him play.
Not a Cubs fan here at all, but this young man can be the next Sammy. Lots of big holes on his swing right now but the ball really suffers when he connects. Besides, as others have punctuated, he is an athlete. He is a keeper to me.
Bwahahaha thanks for the good laugh bart. Morel is a below average player that strikes out 30% of the time and is going into his age 25 season.
Since you are so smart let’s look at this:
Soto 33 million 5.4 WAR surplus value 11.3 million dollars
Morel 700k 1.4 WAR (in only 107 games) surplus value 11.2 million.
Five times 11.2 is 56 million, Morel may make 15 million in those five years IF he doesn’t improve which is a 40 million surplus value to 11.3.
Odds are, Morel can play at least a 0 defensive value left field if not be a positive defender there.
You also are naive about the Padres financial state if you even bring up Happ. Happ makes 20 million dollars, the Padres have to cut money.
If the Cubs offered Morel and Assad, the Padres should jump all over it because both players have proven to be effective major league players ant league minimum and the Padres still hope to win now with little to no money to due so. Assad and Morel would be a surplus value next season of 30 million. The Cubs on the other hand, imo, would be stupid to do so, Preller would be stupid not to do so. Granted, Preller is an awful gm/pbo and Hoyer is good so no deal.
If you watched Morel play as much as most Cub fans, you know that he very much is an impact player. And I also think you are way undervaluing his years of controllability. I don’t think it’s a one for one trade for Soto, but thinking the Cubs would even consider PCA AND Morel is delusional. They wouldn’t trade PCA in a one for one deal.
Not in a million years would the Cubs offer that.
If it meant getting Soto I would pay PCA’s flight to San Diego.
6 WAR is $55 million in value. $22 million in surplus value. But a HUGE impact on the team’s possibility of making a playoff run.
Morel might equal that production over the next 5 years. If he is forced to move to DH then less. As a below average player,
he will have little to no impact on the team’s playoff chances.
If the Cubs offered Morel and Assad, Preller won’t even pick up the phonen
Preller’s team’s have been in the playoffs two of the last 4 years and went all the way to the NLCS while the Cubs have been there once and were bounced in the wild card. The Padres are looking for just pitching. The Cubs are looking for 1B, 3B, CF, and 2 starters.
I keep hearing that the Padres need to cut payroll but no one on the Padres have said that. Even the one writer in San Diego that said that, came out one day later and said he was wrong about the reason why he had claimed they needed to cut payroll.
The Cubs need an impact player. Getting a player like that is going to cost prospects that at least have a possibility of being an impact player. Morel has no chance.
Rondon, your attempt at a joke fell flat. Morel is a below average player. 1.2 WAR two seasons in a row. He is a slightly above average hitter that strikes out over 30% of the time and plays abysmal defense.
I have watched him play enough to know that what we have seen is exactly what he is, a below average player.
The scouts said the same thing as he came up through the system and graded him a 40 FV player.
5 years of Morel for 1 year of Soto at an additional $30MM in payroll seems pretty close to me.
How about develop him into the hitter he is supposed to be rather than trade for a bat by wasting the farm? Soto isn’t the answer either.
Soto is the answer. He is going into his age 25 season and is one of best hitters in the game. Over the next 5 seasons Morel, who is also going into his age 25 season, might equal in total the 5.9 WAR Soto has averaged per season since his first full season in 2019.
I like Soto but the Cubs have too many holes to fill to make that kind of trade.
Also, Soto isn’t a guy you plug into a line up, he’s a guy you build a line up around, so to me, you don’t make that one year trade because you’re not affording yourself time to build that line up. I’m also not dropping 33 million dollars on a DH.
If the Cubs whiff on Shohei Ohtani they should go all-out for Juan Soto. The front office could also be proactive and secure a trade for Soto early on and then re-evaluate their needs based on what they forfeited to the Padres. One of the biggest holes the Cubs need to fill is that of an impact bat or two, especially if they lose Cody Bellinger in free agency which is looking pretty likely.
The Cubs could easily fill their other “holes” from among impact premium free agents such as SP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, RP Josh Hader, 3B Matt Chapman, 1B Rhys Hoskins and DH J.D. Martinez. There also many other quality FA’s at these positions who are at or just below the level of these players.
The Cubs have also been linked to numerous impact trades besides Soto including a potential one with the Mets for 1B Pete Alonso. A key variable with both Soto and Alonso is the Cubs ability to secure a long term contract extension so either could remain a core fixture beyond 2024.
Not for only one year of Soto. 5 years of Morel plus 3 other prospects for only 1 year of Soto and no guarantee of an extension. Soto is a generational talent. He’s gotta be locked up long term.
1.2 WAR per season of Morel that won’t help the Cubs win or 6 WAR of Soto that puts the Cubs over the top. That’s a no-brainer.
Cubs wont trade Happ so they would have to send PCA and Morel plus to the Padres to make that trade happen
Pca isn’t getting traded. He’s one of a handful of untouchables. And agin. Trading 5 years of Morel for what will most certainly be a one and done for Soto as a Cub. Unless an extension is reached its a huge risk for the cubs. The cubs just extended happ and the new deal hasn’t even started yet. Why would trading him be an option?
He can’t play 3rd or 1B. He can’t pitch either. Package him in a deal for someone who can. His position is 2B.
Cubs absolutely don’t need to be in any hurry to move Morel. I am in the camp of those people who feel his athletic ability would allow him to play a competent OF position if he was allowed to concentrate on that position.
It is unlikely that he would get that OF opportunity with the Cubs. I have no problem to continue using him in a super utility role, including as a part time DH – showing his versatility as well as building his trade value.
At some point in the next two seasons the ‘right time and right situation’ will present itself for the Cubs to fill a position of need where Morel will be used to add that piece. But with all the youth on the doorstep of Wrigley, I feel there still is uncertainty as to what area needs to be addressed first.
Include him with Amaya for Burnes. (I’m a Brewer fan, for full disclosure.)
For Morel (alone), I would consider moving him for a good, young, controllable RH relief pitcher.
This might be a better question to look into later on in the offseason after the Cubs make some free agency moves (or fail to make moves). Currently no need to trade young, solid, controllable, affordable talent when there’s still a path to regular at bats
Exactly. This question can’t be answered with any prescience until Jed paints his off season masterpiece (with apologies to Jerry Garcia).
“Prescience” is a big word for this forum. Looks like you are suggesting Jed go back to school for some pre-science courses. Chemistry Lab, anyone?
I don’t know. I hear he’s a real fun guy.
I heard he’s “open to extension talks”
2yrs 75mil
“Top trade candidate Pete alonso”
Yes by the media and cubs fans
I believe he could play a decent second base. His arm would be a real asset. He could be a second baseman who hits 30-40 homers. Include him in a package for Dylan Cease.
Are you suggesting the Cubs trade their 2nd baseman Nico Hoerner and keep Morel? Morel is a great utility guy to have when one of the Cubs starers inevitably gets hurt. Their defense will suffer, but at least his bat will be alive. Keep him.
I didn’t read Larry’s comment as a suggestion to trade Hoerner but instead to trade Morel.
No. I’m thinking if I’m with the White Sox, I see Morel as a potential second baseman who can hit 30+ homers. Even if that doesn’t work, the Sox could definitely use his power. In trading Cease, I would target Morel and whatever else I could get.
Christopher Morel would also be a fine upgrade for the White Sox on the field and in their dysfunctional clubhouse.with his high octane energy and enthusiasm.
The headliner for Cease would be a high end SP prospect b/c other than dealing Robert, he is only one that can help them replenish arms.
Larry that’s the same idea I posted a few days ago commenting on the Cease trade article. Would work for both teams. I believe Cease has two years left before free agency.
The Cubs could also use a DH. How about a real blockbuster in reverse to the one that initially brought Dylan Cease and Eloy Jimenez to the southside in the first place.
Cease would become the Cubs co-ace with southpaw Justin Steele for at least the next two years. Eloy has absolutely killed Cubs pitching and has been especially deadly in Wrigley field. Jimenez could be controlled as their new DH (perhaps some 1B?) through 2026 with his two team options.
Sure, he has plenty of control but the kid strikes pout way too much. Has a great arm but can’t showcase it because he isn’t good defensively. He’s not a good everyday player IMO. If you can package him for a front-end starting pitcher, you do it.
Poll: Should the Angels have traded Jordan Adell 4 years ago?
***Jordon***
***Jo***
I’ll just refer to him as “J” Adell and make it even easier.
Jodell Beckham.
LOL!!!!
Jr. !!
I’m not a Cubs fan, just a baseball fan looking in from the outside, but I say be very open to trading him. I’m not saying give him away for a rental relief pitcher.
But I will admit that the kid will either make some adjustments and “get it” (turning his offense up a notch similarly like Austin Riley adjusted) or the kid will have a lot of up and down years with the bat (similar on the side of Javier Baez).
In my opinion if you can get a consistent player who can play decent defense and hit slightly above average in return, you don’t hesitate.
I think the Baez comparison is a good one. He doesn’t strike me as someone who’s going to be a consistently high-end performer. Definitely wouldn’t want to buy into him as a centerpiece for Pete Alonso. But he will be great in stretches and entice you with his raw talent.
If Christopher Morel had the defensive acumen of Javier Baez the Cubs wouldn’t have signed Dansby Swanson. Nico Hoerner and Morel would be the double play combo of their current contention window.
NOT SAYING HE’S COMPARABLE TO ACUNA but…
there’s a lesson to learn after he had a comparable K% and cut it by 50% within a couple of years.
Morel has speed and power. Gifts.
Hold onto his talent and if he can be more selective he gradually becomes even nore valuable as their player or a trade chip.
And I’m not a Cub fan, WSox S Sider.
Yes, Acuna did that. Name a second player, please. Acuna is the exception, and should not be used as a likely comparison for anyone else.
530 of us got this right.
Real poll should be how much morel’s agent paid for a trade poll from mlbtr?
$10 Starbucks gift card funneled to Nick Deeds via cryptocurrency.
Such a terrible take.
All he does is make terrible takes. I’m starting to think he’s a troll trying to make Mets fans look bad.
LFG is quite successful at making himself look bad.
yes, I do not like his game. Hes one of the worst defenders ive ever seen, when hes cold hes one of the worst hitters ive ever seen, the hrs give him so much value we need to trade for a guy like alonso, who can we extend
Ever? Exaggerate much?
He could be turned into an average LF with some coaching. He’s an athlete, and could replace Happ in left (not soon enough for me)
morel and Crow Armstrong for Bo Bichette?
I don’t think there’s a player that the Cubs will trade Crow-Armstong for at this point.
This is the truth. PCA is a huge part of the plan to put a top shelf defense behind Ohtani and Yamamoto.
Dansby says hi.
Apparently the Cubs want Bichette to play 3rd. A bunch of rumors have been going around about it on blogs and Morosi tweeted about it. I doubt it will happen though. The package I saw being discussed in an article was PCA, Horton, and Morel. I doubt the Cubs do that very much and the Jays won’t trade him unless they are blown away so it seems like a non-starter to me.
Bichette also seems like a poor candidate for 3rd given his weak arm anyway.
The Jays are still very much in their competitive window. Who’s replacing Bo Bichette at shortstop to say nothing of their batting order? The free agent market certainly doesn’t offer SS alternatives.
Imo, these Bichette “rumors” are a “nothing burger”.
He is a bat without a position. Time to move on from him.
So is Schwarber really. You can have a player on the roster that can strictly DH.
Schwarber is the Phillies DH.
If Harper had been healthy he would not have played LF. He won’t next season. Morel has no place to play on the Cubs other than DH.
Yes, he knows that. He’s saying full time DH players can exist and here is an example.
That’s not true looking at the Cubs current depth chart. Pending other offseason additions, 1B and 3B are both open for competition this spring along with DH.
The Cubs could easily prioritize 3B as Morel’s primary position. He’s has plenty of athleticism and arm strength for the hot corner.
When Nick Madrigal lost his chance at being the starting 2B following the FA signing of SS Dansby Swanson last winter, the Cubs asked him to learn 3B. Madrigal had played 2B exclusively in MLB and during his last two seasons at Oregon State University. The only other position he played was SS, as an OSU freshman along with a 2 game pro debut for the White Sox Rookie League affiliate. Madrigal worked his ass off last winter and throughout spring training taking reps at the hot corner and became the Cubs best defensive 3B surpassing previous starter Patrick Wisdom along with Morel who was still being utilized as the team’s swiss army knife.
There’s no reason Morel couldn’t duplicate Madrigal’s effort if the Cubs gave him a similar opportunity. Clearly his power bat would profile at 3B like Wisdom’s had. Morel still whiffs at a ridiculous rate like Wisdom but he has more upside with his hitting tool to say nothing of his base running acumen and infectious clubhouse presence.
Morel is not near the bat that Scwarber is.
In all due respect to each of them, but the most value that BOTH Madrigal and Wisdom have to the Cubs – is as trade pieces. Neither are needed, except in Rossy’s eyes. And both contributed to why Ross is gone.
Teams like the A’s, Chisox could put them both to good use. The Cubs should open roster space by trading both for a prospect in low A ball.
Getz might accidentally give up the next Tatis.
Who cares? MLBTR should put up a poll of the real off-season buzz: Should the Astros trade for Wilyer and Albert to join Bryan and Jose to become the first team in baseball history to have four Abreu’s on its roster?
If Christopher Morel needs to be a centerpiece in a trade for Juan Soto or Pete Alonso the answer is an emphatic YES.
A lot of positives and negatives in his profile, and very extreme on both ends. He makes loud contact, which shows up in average exit velocity, hard-hit rate, and barrel rate, but with the tradeoff of a massive strikeout rate (30%+) and a very high in-zone whiff rate (28%). Defensively he’s blocked from playing an outfield position with a projected outfield of Happ, Crow-Armstong, and Suzuki for the foreseeable future.
If I were the Cubs, I would shop him around to see if any team bites on the potential talent. Huge talent but has a lot of red flags that are worrisome.
@lfg are you on drugs?
In some ways I see this as a situation that has been mismanaged by the Cubs. They should have just let him play 3B everyday for at least the first few months of last season. He always had more upside than any of the other guys they were running out there. Then at least that question would be answered. If he failed at 3rd, they could have let him spend the rest of the season at 1B. Same situation. Making a guy with his profile either a DH or a utility player is really a poor developmental plan.
The result is, now you have a guy with two seasons of experience, multiple physical tools, but only one actual skill. The best bet at this point is to trade him because you wasted too many opportunities to let him develop and display any additional skills.
Why trade him now..they have enough control wait another year then decide..yes he doesnt have a place on defense..but his power is legit and still learning only 800 plate appearances and put up 40 dingers ..if he can just improve a little at the plate you got something even if he is just your everyday dh who plays a lil outfield in a pinch..hold on to him till the trade deadline next year at least see where he is at ..he shows even a lil improvement with that power and age he be worth even more if they wanna move him
Jose Hernandez 2.0 is what you have in Morel.
If Morel gets any better, and he’s traded, many here are going to regret it if he shows his true potential.
Play him at 3B or 1B every day. I like him more than Wisdom for 3B. Plus, 1B would be an option if the Cubs don’t sign someone like Rhys Hoskins to play there. It’s. a less demanding position defensively, so I believe he could handle it. He seems more than athletic enough.
No matter the situation, I would not trade Morel unless the Cubbies truly received something in return who could improve the team now.
Despite playing in the weak NL Central, Craig Counsell is gonna have a difficult job getting this team into playoff contention.
I am reading how the Cubs’ should trade for Alonso or Soto with emptying their farm system but never reading how they can take on Tyler Glasnow’s salary from the Tampa Bay Ray without emptying their farm system!
They were a couple moves away from the postseason. Why make a bold move, lose the farm, and lose the future? They are better off keeping who they have and using the FA market or a trade here or there to build on their existing team.
Is Rhys Hoskins that much better than CM ? I don’t believe so . As far as trading goes the only player that’s worth getting would be Soto , Trading for pitching give me Cease / Eloy flashbacks therefore I say you have the money so spend it on pitchers from Japan and maybe in doing so S.O may leave a little on the table to have a chance to play on a mlb Team with more Japanese players
I agree why pay Rhys when cm can produce similarly on offense and is younger..and i would like to see if he can play first base his natural postion was 2nd so playing on the same side of the diamond should be ok and first base lil less demanding then second so he might do ok
His natural position is not 2nd base, as a matter of fact, he has more games played at second in the majors than his entire time in the minors and playing internationally.
I really wish people would stop commenting to comment. Morels issue is his arm, not his athleticism. The reason Hoyer believes he would be a plus defender at second is because he wouldn’t have to throw as far on average. His next issue is that Morel had a serious injury to his glove hand and catching doesn’t come as naturally to him. He has to make a conscious decision to close his hand when it hits his glove. For the most part, Morel is fine at fielding but there have been quite a few occasions where he simple drops the ball when he fields it. That is where the concern about his ability to play first comes in.
With Kb and Javy, they had Rizzo at first, both players were told to throw the ball in the dirt, since Rizzo left, we have played poor defender after poor defender at first so short hopping balls isn’t an option for Morel if he plays third base, his more natural position. I personally believe the Cubs best course of action would be re-signing Bellinger and putting him at first where he would be a leading defender and rolling with Morel at third through spring and early in the season.
The Cubs gave Morel reps at first last season during practice, they also said they were planning on giving Morel reps at first during the DOWL which never happened. I doubt the coaching staff believes he can handle first, otherwise he would have gotten some game time there.
Nicky Lopez is hardly out of a job. He’s currently at the top of the White Sox depth chart for 2B and figures to be their primary utility infielder when the front office secures a better offensive player for the keystone this offseason.
Try him at 1B. He should be able to handle it.
Depends what you get in return. Anyone is trade able
I say put him at first base. Against leftist