The Marlins are placing infielder/outfielder Christopher Morel on the 10-day injured list, with Deyvison De Los Santos set to be recalled in the corresponding move. Manager Clayton McCullough told reporters (including Kevin Barral of Fish On First) this afternoon that Morel is expected to be sidelined for between four and six weeks by the oblique strain he’s suffering from.
Morel, 26, was non-tendered by the Rays back in November but signed a major league deal with the Marlins during the offseason with the expectation that he would serve as Miami’s starting first baseman. Morel’s career kicked off with a bang in Chicago when he was promoted to the majors straight from Double-A back in 2022 due to injures on the club’s roster. Morel served in a utility role for the club that year, splitting time between center field, third base, second base, and shortstop as needed. He was below average defensively at all of those positions, but hit a solid .235/.304/.433 in 113 games.
Headed into the 2023 season, Morel returned to the minors to start the year at Triple-A but was quickly called up and made the team’s starting DH, with occasionally stints in the outfield and at second base as well. Morel delivered a banner offseason year that season, posting a 120 wRC+ and clubbing 26 homers in just 107 games. Once Morel showed the ability to offer such big time power, the Cubs opted to give him the keys to third base headed into 2024. Unfortunately, things went sideways for Morel in more ways than one that year. He was atrocious defensively at the hot corner, and despite solid peripheral numbers his bat wasn’t enough to justify an everyday spot in the lineup. He hit just .199/.302/.372 in 103 games for the Cubs that year before being shipped to the Rays as part of the Isaac Paredes trade at the 2024 trade deadline.
Morel’s year-and-a-half stint with the Rays saw things devolve further. The Rays committed to playing him nearly exclusively in left field during his time in the organization, with only brief cameos at second base and in right field. That was in hopes that focusing on one position could help him rediscover his groove on offense and be more effective on defense, but neither of those hopes panned out. Morel slashed just .208/.277/.355 in 154 games as a Ray, and in 105 games with Tampa last year he struck out at a massive 35.7% clip. The failed experiment of bringing Morel into the fold came to an end for Tampa when he was non-tendered back in November, but that opened the door for the Marlins to take a shot on him.
The low-stakes environment of a dubiously competitive Marlins team seemed like a good place for Morel to try and turn his career around, and playing him at first base would keep the expectations for his glove to a manageable level. Unfortunately, Morel’s oblique injury leaves him sidelined before he even got to take the field for Miami this year. He’ll now miss at least the first month of the season and figures to be back in action at some point in May. While Morel is out of commission, Connor Norby, Graham Pauley, and Javier Sanoja could all see additional time on the infield to make up for his absence.
The primary beneficiary of Morel’s absence, however, is De Los Santos. A 22-year-old corner infielder who has yet to make his big league debut, De Los Santos was one of the prospects traded to the Marlins by the Diamondbacks in the A.J. Puk deal during a breakout 2024 season. De Los Santos hasn’t yet lived up to that strong performance after struggling to hit for power at Triple-A in 2025, but could still be a valuable right-handed bat for Miami down the line. For now, he’ll get his first taste of big league action a little earlier than expected and have the opportunity to get into the lineup against southpaws.
