The Marlins have designated first baseman Christopher Morel for assignment, according to multiple beat writers. The move creates space on both the 26-man and 40-man rosters for Griffin Conine, who has been activated from the 60-day injured list.
After signing a $2MM free agent deal with Miami during the offseason, Morel’s tenure with the Fish got off to a rough start when he strained his oblique just prior to Opening Day. His season debut didn’t come until April 28, and Morel then hit a meager .162/.219/.206 over 73 plate appearances. Morel struck out 28 times in those 73 PA, resulting in a 38.4% strikeout rate that was even worse than the 35.7% number he posted with the Rays in 2025.
There has always been a lot of swing-and-miss in Morel’s game, yet he was able to somewhat counterbalance those whiffs with some power in the past. Morel hit .247/.313/.508 with 26 home runs over 429 PA with the Cubs in 2023, but while he homered 21 times in 2024 as well, his overall hitting numbers plummeted. Over 989 PA with the Cubs, Rays, and Marlins since Opening Day 2024, Morel has batted only .201/.283/.351.
Tampa Bay non-tendered Morel last fall rather than pay him a projected $2.6MM in his first year of arbitration eligibility. The Marlins stepped in to see if Morel could revive his bat in south Florida, yet the $2MM signing now looks like a bust.
Claiming Morel off waivers would mean that a new team would assume the remainder of his salary, so a little more than $1MM. While not a big sum, Morel has shown so little this season that any interested clubs may balk at even that modest expenditure, as the promise of his 2023 season fades further into the past. Morel also doesn’t bring much beyond hitting potential, as while he has lined up at seven different positions in the majors, he has been a subpar defender everywhere and may just be a first base-only player at this stage of his career.
Because Morel has more than three years of MLB service time, he can reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency if he clears waivers. Doing so would forfeit the $1MMish sum still guaranteed to Morel by the Marlins, however, so Morel might prefer to accept an outright assignment in order to retain his seven-figure payday. If the Marlins released Morel entirely after he cleared waivers, Miami would still owe the remainder of his salary, minus the prorated MLB minimum that would be covered by a new team for any time Morel spends on their active roster for the rest of 2026.
Only four teams have gotten less from the first base position in 2026 than the Marlins, as beyond Morel’s struggles, Connor Norby, Kyle Stowers, and Liam Hicks also haven’t done much when playing the cold corner. Miami has been using Hicks at first base and DH to keep his bat in the lineup when he hasn’t been catching, as Joe Mack has taken the bulk of catching duties since his call-up to the majors.
Since the 39-38 Marlins are in the wild card race, first base is a logical target area for the Fish at the trade deadline if they remain in contention. Looking internally, Conine might be a candidate for the position since he played his first big league game as a first baseman earlier this season, though the likelier scenario has Conine returning to regular outfield duty.
Conine played in only 11 games before suffering a torn hamstring that required surgery. After batting .261/.320/.435 in his first 175 MLB plate appearances in 2024-25, Conine entered the year looking to firmly establish himself as a regular in Miami’s lineup after shoulder surgery kept him on the shelf for most of the 2025 campaign. The hamstring surgery provided yet another setback for Conine, and it cut short a hot start that saw the outfielder post a .951 OPS over his first 25 PA of 2026.
