Chicago Cubs Could Open Up Trade Talks for Christopher Morel
Christopher Morel entered the 2024 MLB season with high hopes of a big-time breakout year for the Chicago Cubs. He has shown flashes of the huge potential that has made him such a valuable part of the team's future, but he has not been able to figure out the consistency side of things.
As the MLB trade deadline later this month draws closer, the Cubs are playing for their jobs.
Jed Hoyer and the front office have begun considering the option of selling off talent. No one can blame them, as the team has been awful in recent weeks.
The only chance of stopping a sell-off from happening is to win baseball games over the next couple of weeks. If Chicago can prove that they can win consistently, Hoyer may opt to buy talent and try to turn the season around.
Should the Cubs decide to sell, Morel could find himself on the trade block.
Matthew Trueblood of North Side Baseball has suggested that the team could consider trading Morel.
He points out that Morel has been mentioned as a player of interest in trade rumors before. Teams could view his bat potential and his age as intriguing factors in potential trade discussions.
"When they do, expect two names to come up with more frequency than you might have guessed: Nico Hoerner and Christopher Morel. For very different reasons, those two have drawn teams' interest, and the Cubs might feel that capitalizing on their trade value now is the best way to shake up their medium-term positional corps."
During the 2024 season so far, Morel has played in 89 games. He has hit .199/.304/.369 to go along with 15 home runs and 46 RBI.
Morel brings a lot of pop to the plate, but his batting average is brutal. If he can develop that side of his game, he has a chance to be a quality player. Defensively, however, he has not been great at third base.
If Chicago does decide to trade Morel, the value that they'll receive would likely be lower than they could have had in the offseason. However, he does have have multiple years after 2024 on his contract.
The 25-year-old will be a name to watch over the next couple of weeks. Hoyer and the Cubs would prefer to see him and the rest of the team heat up and start winning, but if they don't, quite a few players could be heading to new homes.