Christopher Morel

Note: This page is for 2020s infielder Christopher Morel; for the French national team player, click here.

Christopher Rafael Morel

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 145 lb

• Debut May 17, 2022

• Born June 24, 1999 in Santiago, Santiago D.R.

BR page

Biographical Information

Infielder Christopher Morel homered in his first major league at-bat for the Chicago Cubs on May 17, 2022. It came against Chase De Jong in the 8th inning of a 7-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates; he was pinch-hitting for Patrick Wisdom and then took over for him on defense at third base. He almost had his homer nullified when he initially missed touching the first base bag in his elation, but realized his mistake and returned to touch it before it was too late, before completing his trot around the bases. Willson Contreras, who was the Cubs' catcher in the game, had been the last batter to homer in his debut at-bat for the team, back in 2016. Morel started his career by reaching base in his first 22 games; it was the longest such streak by a Cubs player at the start of his career, and the longest in the majors since Rocco Baldelli had reached base in his first 24 games in 2003. He hit .235 in 113 games in his rookie season, with 16 homers and 47 RBIs, for an OPS+ of 107.

Morel was originally signed by the Cubs as an international amateur free agent on August 23, 2015. He was added to the major league roster following the 2019 season, which allowed him to spend 2020 at the Cubs' alternate training site while the minor leagues were shut down by the Coronavirus pandemic. He played in AAA for the first time in 2021, splitting the season between the AA Tennessee Smokies and the AAA Iowa Cubs, combining for 18 homers and 66 RBIs in 110 games. He was a true utility player, appearing in 10 or more games at five different positions (CF, 3B, RF, SS, 2B). In 2022, he was hitting .306/.380/.565 with 7 homers and 20 RBIs in 28 games for Tennessee when he was called up to Chicago.

In 2023, he began the season in AAA with the Iowa Cubs of the International League, hitting .330 in 29 games. He continued his hot hitting after being called up to Chicago on May 9th, as he homered that day, and then starting on May 17th homered in five straight game. At the end of that run on May 23rd, he was hitting .367 with 9 homers and 15 RBIs in 12 games. Only one player had hit more homers in his first 12 games of a season in major league history: Mike Schmidt, who had hit 11 through his first 12 games in 1976, while Luis Gonzalez (in 2001) and Larry Walker (1997) had matched this. He was the first Cubs player to homer in five straight games since Sammy Sosa had done so in his historic 1998 season - one year before Morel was born. He had also gotten at least one hit in all 12 games, matching a club mark set by Hank Sauer in 1954; he had also scored in all of them, needing to so so one more time to match Sauer. He cooled down after that, but still hit .247 in 107 games, with 26 homers and 70 RBIs for an OPS+ of 119. He tied Cody Bellinger for the team lead in homers. He did not have a set defensive position, getting most of his playing time as a designated hitter, although he did make some starts at second base and in center field.

In 2024, he was installed as the Cubs' regular third baseman and while he wasn't great defensively, he continued to contribute with the bat, hitting 18 homers and driving in 51 runs in 103 games even if his batting average was below the Mendoza Line at .199. As a result his OPS+ plus also fell significantly, to 89. The Cubs decided to make an upgrade at the position at the trading deadline and to do so sent Christopher and two prospects, Hunter Bigge and Ty Johnson, to the Tampa Bay Rays in order to acquire Isaac Paredes, who was just coming off an appearance in the 2024 All-Star Game.

Notable Achievements

• 20-Home Runs Seasons: 2 (2023 & 2024)

Further Reading

• Jordan Bastian: "Wrigley rocks after rookie homers in 1st AB", mlb.com, May 18, 2022. [1]
• Tim Stebbins: "More Morel magic with HR in 5th straight game: 'He's just electric': Cubs dynamo continues to make history with blazing start", mlb.com, May 24, 2023. [2]
• Jackson Stone: "Cubs acquire All-Star Paredes from Rays for Morel, 2 prospects", mlb.com, July 28, 2024. [3]

Related Sites

• Christopher Morel on mlb.com