Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said Wednesday that Morel will play first base in winter ball, Bruce Levine of 670TheScore.com reports.
Morel has never appeared in a game at first base at any level of professional ball, but the Cubs are hoping that he might take well to the position and be an option for them there in 2024. The 24-year-old was primarily used at designated hitter down the stretch in 2023 because his defense anywhere in the field proved to be too unreliable.
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Cubs' Christopher Morel: Blasts 26th home run
Rotowire
Morel went 2-for-5 with a double, a solo home run and two runs scored in Saturday's win over the Brewers.
Following up his 16-homer season as a rookie in 2022, Morel now has 26 home runs this year, and he's also boosted his batting average and OPS in his second MLB campaign. The 24-year-old has struck out more than 30 percent of the time in his first two seasons, however, which is something fantasy managers will want to see him improve upon moving forward.
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Cubs' Christopher Morel: Doubles, triples in loss
Rotowire
Morel went 2-for-3 with a walk, a double, a triple and a run scored in Friday's loss to the Brewers.
Morel was productive from the No. 8 spot in the lineup, but the Cubs as a whole mustered only six hits and three runs in the defeat. The 24-year-old has recorded 44 extra-base hits among his 92 total hits this year, including 25 home runs, boosting his OPS to a solid .809. He should have a few more chances to contribute before the regular season wraps up.
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Cubs' Christopher Morel: Not in lineup Thursday
Rotowire
Morel is absent from the lineup Thursday at Atlanta.
Jeimer Candelario will serve as the Cubs' designated hitter with Miles Mastrobuoni playing third base. Morel, who also sat Wednesday, has gone 3-for-26 (.115) with seven strikeouts over his last seven games.
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Cubs' Christopher Morel: Out of Wednesday's lineup
Rotowire
Morel is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game in Atlanta.
Morel will sit Wednesday while stuck in a 3-for-26 slump, though he did hit two solo homers during that stretch. Jeimer Candelario (back) is starting at first base in his return from the injured list while Miles Mastrobuoni mans the hot corner.
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Cubs' Christopher Morel: Goes deep again Saturday
Rotowire
Morel went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's win over the Rockies.
Morel is now up to 25 home runs this season, and he's been on a bit of a power surge recently, with five long balls over his last 11 games. However, the 24-year-old is batting just .217 during the stretch, which shows that he's often a boom or bust option in fantasy. Morel will need to cut down his strikeout rate, which is currently 31.4 percent, if he wants to make more consistent contact at the plate moving forward.
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Cubs' Christopher Morel: Absent from lineup
Rotowire
Morel is not in the lineup for Friday's game versus the Rockies.
Morel had started each of the last 10 games and homered four times during that span, but he'll take a seat for this one as the Cubs open up a weekend series against Colorado. Jared Young is in the designated hitter spot.
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Cubs' Christopher Morel: Goes deep Wednesday
Rotowire
Morel went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 13-7 loss to the Pirates.
Morel is now up to 24 home runs after hitting 16 long balls as a rookie last season. While it's a solid total, the 24-year-old did hit nine of them in his first 12 games of the year. Since then, Morel has 15 home runs in 89 games. For fantasy purposes, the youngster has been a good player to use during a hot streak, though he's still looking for more consistency at the plate, and he'll need to cut down on the strikeouts moving forward.
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Cubs' Christopher Morel: Goes yard in loss
Rotowire
Morel went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 6-4 loss to the Diamondbacks.
Morel has homered four times over his last eight games, adding seven RBI in that span. The 24-year-old's gotten back into form over the last week or so, which has in turn helped him stay in the lineup more regularly, though the Cubs have also faced southpaws in three of their last five games. For the year, Morel is slashing .248/.312/.504 with 23 homers, 67 RBI, 55 runs scored and four stolen bases over 96 games.
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Cubs' Christopher Morel: Slugs 22nd homer
Rotowire
Morel went 1-for-5 with a solo home run Monday in a 5-4 win against Colorado.
Morel connected for a mammoth 466-foot solo shot in the fifth inning to give the Cubs their first lead. It was the second straight game with a long ball for the slugger, and he's up to 22 homers over 365 plate appearances on the season. Morel isn't an everyday player due in part to his 32.1 percent strikeout rate, but he's a constant power threat when he's in the lineup as suggested by his 15.04 AB/HR.
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Cubs' Christopher Morel: Triples, homers in win
Rotowire
Morel went 2-for-4 with a triple and a solo home run in Sunday's 5-2 win over the Diamondbacks.
Morel served as the DH and batted first, and he had a big impact on the game, launching his 21st home run of the season in the third inning. He also added just his second triple of the year. Morel had seen a dip in playing time recently, but with Jeimer Candelario (back) departing Sunday's contest early, there could be a bigger role available for the former in the near future.
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Cubs' Christopher Morel: Hits key home run off bench
Rotowire
Morel went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run in Tuesday's 11-8 win over the Giants.
Morel entered the game as a pinch hitter in the third inning and made his mark in the seventh, hitting his 20th home run of the season with two runners on as the Cubs rallied for six runs in the frame. The 24-year-old has been out of the starting lineup the past three days, so he may have lost his grip on an everyday role, though he can still do some damage off the bench. Of course, fantasy managers would rather see Morel starting.
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Cubs' Christopher Morel: Sitting again Tuesday
Rotowire
Morel remains out of the lineup Tuesday versus the Giants.
There's no word of any injury, but this is Morel's third straight absence from the Cubs' starting lineup. It could be all performance-related, as the versatile 24-year-old has slumped to a .127/.215/.239 batting line over his last 79 plate appearances dating back to Aug. 3.
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Cubs' Christopher Morel: Absent from lineup again
Rotowire
Morel is not in the lineup for Monday's contest versus the Giants, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.
Morel has now been on the bench for two straight after starting each of the previous three contests. Cody Bellinger is being used at designated hitter Monday.
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Cubs' Christopher Morel: Back on bench Sunday
Rotowire
Morel is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Reds.
Morel had served as Chicago's designated hitter for each of the past three games, but he went just 1-for-7 at the dish in those games to bring his slash line to .148/.225/.309 since the beginning of August. With Morel unable to take advantage of his brief return to the everyday lineup, he appears set to move back into a utility role for the final month of the season.
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Cubs' Christopher Morel: Takes seat Sunday
Rotowire
Morel is not in the lineup Sunday against the Pirates.
Ian Happ, Mike Tauchman and Seiya Suzuki will start across the outfield as Cody Bellinger takes a turn as the Cubs' designated hitter. Morel hit a double Saturday at Pittsburgh but is slashing just .117/.209/.250 over his last 67 plate appearances dating back to Aug. 3. He now finds himself on the bench for the fourth time in five games and may be moving into more of a part-time role.
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Cubs' Christopher Morel: Sits again Friday
Rotowire
Morel isn't in the Cubs' lineup Friday against Pittsburgh.
Friday marks the fourth time Morel has been held out of the lineup in the Cubs' last five games as he continues to slump at the plate. Jeimer Candelario will serve as Chicago's designated hitter in Morel's absence while Nick Madrigal starts at third base.
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Cubs' Christopher Morel: Sitting again Thursday
Rotowire
Morel is not in the lineup Thursday versus the Pirates.
It's his second straight absence from the Cubs' starting lineup, though Morel did single as a pinch hitter Wednesday in Detroit. The 24-year-old is slashing just .107/.206/.232 over his last 63 plate appearances dating back to Aug. 3.
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Cubs' Christopher Morel: On bench again Wednesday
Rotowire
Morel is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Tigers.
Morel will head to the bench for the second time in the series, perhaps suggesting that his status as an everyday player for the Cubs is on shaky ground. Though he hasn't been a complete zero for fantasy purposes with three home runs and 11 RBI in 18 games on the month, Morel has scored just five runs and hasn't stolen a base in August while batting a lowly .123. Rather than leaning on Morel as the Cubs' primary designated hitter, manager David Ross could consider rotating a number of position players at that lineup spot.
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Cubs' Christopher Morel: Takes seat Friday
Rotowire
Morel is out of the lineup Friday against Atlanta.
Morel will get a breather after starting six straight games between DH and left field. The high-energy 24-year-old is slashing .350/.409/.600 with two homers, four doubles, 10 RBI, two stolen bases and nine runs scored over his last 10 games.
