Once a power bat, can Christopher Morel recapture his 2023 magic? Dive into the numbers and see if he can reignite his career with the Marlins.
Not too long ago, new Miami Marlin Christopher Morel was a bona-fide power bat.
In 2023, Morel hit 26 home runs and drove in 70 over just 107 games with the Chicago Cubs, ending the season with an OPS+ of 122, which is 22 points above the league average.
Morel failed to replicate that production in 2024, which led to him being traded just before the deadline.
Things didn't improve for Morel with the Tampa Bay Rays, where Morel combined to hit just 14 home runs in 154 games over two seasons.
The Marlins signed Morel over the winter, and he's the latest subject of "Getting to Know the Fish," a Marlins Roundtable series profiling each Miami player.
Height: 6-foot
Weight: 200 pounds
Hometown: Santiago, Dominican Republic
Years in the Bigs: Four
Can he get his stroke back? So how did Morel go from hitting 26 homers in 107 games to 14 over 154?
Morel has never been a great contact hitter, and although his strikeout rate improved from 31 percent in 2023 to 26 in 2024, it skyrocketed to nearly 36 percent last year.
Morel also didn't hit the ball as hard in 2024, with his hard-hit percentage dropping from 50 to 40.4. Although that rate improved back to around 50 percent in 2025, a lot of this was negated by Morel striking out more.
Getting more into analytics, Morel's expected batting average was .239 in 2023, which was similar to his real batting average of .247. That XBA went down to .222 in 2024 and .213 in 2025.
The good news is that Morel is only 27, so there's time for improvement.
Outlook: Morel projects as a reserve utility player, capable of playing the outfield, designated hitter, and third base. Miami's outfield is currently set, with All-Star Kyle Stowers and leadoff man Jakob Marsee coming back from last season. At DH, Miami's projected starter is Griffin Conine, who so far has only played in 54 major-league games after missing most of last season with a shoulder injury.
Third base is where Morel might have his best chance to crack the starting lineup, with projected starter Connor Norby having yet to play a full season. In any case, Miami is hoping Morel can capture at least some of his 2023 magic.
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