Marlins Designate 1B Christopher Morel For Assignment

Before the Miami Marlins finish their home series against the San Francisco Giants on Sunday, they ended an experiment three months into the season. 

The Marlins designated first baseman Christopher Morel for assignment to make room on the roster for Griffin Conine, who was returning from the 60-day Injured List. 

The Marlins signed Morel to a $2 million free agent deal for this season, with hopes of him returning to his earlier form when he totaled 63 home runs across his first three seasons. 

Sad to say, he was an absolute liability at the plate. Through 68 at-bats, he collected only 11 hits (.162 BA), no home runs, and registered a -0.5 WAR. For context, the wins above replacement stat calculates how many more wins a player would influence compared to an average Triple-A player. 

Before Sunday’s game, Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said to reporters during his pregame press conference that the decision was “tough” and that Morel was “a terrific teammate” during his time in the clubhouse. 

“We all came into the season and had high hopes that we could be the ones, and this could be the situation and place where Christopher could turn on a lot of the talent that he has,” McCullough said, “Kind of refine the 22-23 version, and it just didn’t happen.”

Morel suffered a setback early on with an oblique injury, which scratched him from the Opening Day lineup and placed him on the Injured List for a month. His bat never recovered.

As the season went on, it became more evident that the Marlins were better off without Morel on the field. The Marlins were 33-24 in games he was not in the lineup, compared to 6-14 with him. 

“The opportunities he got, they became more limited,” McCullough said. “Especially with the last week or 10 days.”

As the Marlins continued competing and climbing into postseason contention, the Fightin’ Fish also continued to shed the free agents that were supposed to get this young team over the hump. Chris Paddack (0-7, 6.96 ERA, 0-8 WAR) is now with the Cincinnati Reds. 

Austin Slater started for the Marlins on Opening Day but is now on his third team with the Tampa Bay Rays. The third time seems to be the charm for the veteran outfielder, as he has knocked in six hits in seven games (.273) after totaling nine hits in 21 games between the Marlins and New York Mets.

“What’s best for Chris now is to go have a chance to find an opportunity that’s better than what we currently have for him here,” McCullough said. “He’s a real pro. He handled himself in a difficult tenure here, and we wish him the best.”

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