After rough start to season, can Marlins’ Christopher Morel build on big hit?
As Christopher Morel prepared to step into the batter’s box in the eighth inning for a crucial at-bat on Sunday, Connor Norby and Heriberto Hernandez approached their teammate and gave him some advice.
“They got close to me before the at-bat, and they were telling me [to] keep trusting myself, to keep swinging, because swinging is the only way that you can make something happen,” Morel said. “And that’s what I did. I went out there and swung the bat.”
His swing proved pivotal for the Miami Marlins.
After falling behind in the count 0-2, Morel lifted a slider low in the zone from Washington Nationals reliever Gus Varland into center field for a go-ahead RBI single. He followed that by being the trail runner in a double steal with Jakob Marsee — the Marlins’ second double steal of the inning — and scoring on Hernandez’s single in Miami’s eventual 5-2 win at loanDepot park.
And with all that came a momentary sense of relief for Morel.
“The best feeling of all,” Morel said, “is actually being able to help the team with something.”
To put it simply, Morel had not been to do that for the Marlins prior to Sunday. One of Miami’s few free agent acquisitions this offseason, signing with the club for $2 million on a one-year deal, Morel was projected to be the team’s primary first baseman entering spring training.
But then a fluke injury to his oblique during batting practice on Opening Day sidelined him for a month.
And then he struggled at the plate in spot appearances once finally joining the big-league roster on April 27. The eighth-inning RBI single on Sunday was just his fifth hit of the season and the first RBI on the campaign in 31 plate appearances while striking out 11 times entering the team’s series opener against the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday.
It has been a frustrating time for bhim and the Marlins.
But Morel has done what he can to stay the course, and the Marlins are giving him chances to break out of the slump.
“Just continue with the routine,” Morel said. “What you do every day, trust in that process, and then just thankful with God and the manager and everybody who supports me and gives me the chance every day.”
Added Marlins manager Clayton McCullough: “Christopher is a great teammate. It’s something we knew when we signed him this offseason. Everybody you talk to that has been around Chris, he just brings a ton of life to the club. He’s always ready. And he’s told me many times, like, ‘Just whatever you need me for.’ When you come back, it’s easy to try to press the panic button a little bit and want things to happen quickly. Just got to hang in there and just kind of keep taking good at-bats. I’m going to continue to give him an opportunity to try to get into a rhythm and go, because he does have the ability to slug from the right side.”
That slugging potential was showcased early in his MLB career. In his first two seasons with the Chicago Cubs in 2022 and 2023, Morel hit .241 with a .471 slugging mark, .781 on-base-plus-slugging percentage and 42 home runs. But in the two seasons that followed, those numbers dipped to a .204 average, .363 slugging, .651 OPS and 32 home runs.
The slide has continued so far this season, although he is still getting into a rhythm following the injury.
Maybe Sunday’s momentous hit will be the one that sparks him.
Either way, Morel will continue to get time at first base and as a designated hitter against left-handed pitching.
And he’s making sure he’s ready when his name is called.
“Control what you can control,” Morel said, “and then just take every advantage of the opportunity the team is giving you, and then just do your best every day.”
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