Christopher Rafael Morel (born June 24, 1999) is a Dominican professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, basketball, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water ...

for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

. Morel signed with the Cubs as an international free agent in 2015, and made his MLB debut with them in 2022.

Professional career

Chicago Cubs

Minor leagues (2017–2021)

Morel signed with the

as an international free agent on August 23, 2015. In 2017, he was assigned to the Cubs team of the

Dominican Summer League The Dominican Summer League (DSL) is a branch of affiliated Minor League Baseball which is played in the Dominican Republic. The league was founded in 1985. After the demise of the Venezuelan Summer League after the 2015 season, it is the only ...

. In 61 games, he slashed .220/.332/.359 with seven

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s, 40

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(RBI), 44

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted bal ...

, and 23

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s. He spent the 2018 season with Low–A

Eugene Emeralds The Eugene Emeralds (nicknamed the Ems) are a Minor League Baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Eugene, Oregon. The Emeralds are members of the Northwest League and the High-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Eugene plays ...

, and Rookie League

AZL Cubs The Arizona Complex League Cubs are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays it home games at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona. The team is composed mainly of player ...

. In 54 games, he batted .216 with 44 hits, 8 doubles and 3 home runs. He spent the 2019 season with the A-level

South Bend Cubs The South Bend Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in South Bend, Indiana, and play their home games at Four Winds Field at Coveleski Stadium. The team w ...

. In 73 games, he batted .284, with 73 hits, 15 doubles, 7 triples, and 6 home runs. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The Cubs added Morel to their 40-man roster to protect him from the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

on November 20, 2020. He spent the 2021 season with the Double-A

Tennessee Smokies The Knoxville Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Knoxville, Tennessee. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The team was based in Kodak, Tennessee, a Knoxville suburb, fr ...

, and Triple-A

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. T ...

. In 111 games, he batted .223 with 90 hits, 18 doubles, 5 triples, and a career-high 18 home runs.

Major leagues (2022–2024)

Morel started the 2022 season with Double-A Tennessee but was recalled to the major leagues on May 17. Morel made his major league debut later that day, and hit a home run in his first career at-bat during a 7–0 win over the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

. Morel appeared in 113 games for the Cubs in his rookie campaign, slashing .235/.308/.433 with 16 home runs, 47

(RBI), and 10 stolen bases. The Cubs optioned Morel to Triple-A Iowa to begin the 2023 season. They promoted him to the major leagues on May 8, 2023, after he batted .330/.425/.730 with 11 home runs and 31 RBIs over 29 games. Upon his promotion, Morel became the first Cub in franchise history to record nine home runs in his first 12 games of a season on May 23, 2023. In 107 games for the Cubs, he slashed .247/.313/.508 with 26 home runs and 70 RBI. Morel made 103 appearances for Chicago in 2024, hitting .199/.302/.373 with 18 home runs, 57 RBI, and 7 stolen bases.

Tampa Bay Rays (2024–present)

On July 28, 2024, the Cubs traded Morel,

Hunter Bigge Hunter Bradford Bigge (born June 12, 1998) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs. He made his MLB debut in 2024 with the Cubs. Ca ...

, and Ty Johnson to the

in exchange for Isaac Paredes. In 49 games for Tampa Bay in 2024, Morel batted .191/.258/.289 with 3 home runs and 9 RBI. His combined batting average of .196 was the worst in the major leagues."2024 Major League Leaders,"
''Fangraphs''.

Personal life

Morel's brother, Rafael, plays with the Cubs organization. He is currently assigned to the

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morel, Christopher 1999 births Living people Águilas Cibaeñas players Arizona League Cubs players Baseball players from Santiago de los Caballeros Chicago Cubs players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Summer League Cubs players Eugene Emeralds players Iowa Cubs players Major League Baseball utility players Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic 21st-century Dominican Republic sportsmen South Bend Cubs players Tampa Bay Rays players Tennessee Smokies players