Christopher

Morel

It’ll go down as a moderate oblique strain for Morel, who suffered the injury at some point prior to Friday’s season opener against the Rockies, and will likely be out until at least early May. The 26-year-old was expected to open the year as Miami’s starting first baseman after signing a one-year deal in the offseason. It’ll be a combination of Connor Norby and Deyvison De Los Santos splitting time at the cold corner during his absence.

Morel suffered the injury prior to Friday’s season opener against the Rockies and is likely facing a multi-week absence. It’ll be Connor Norby and Deyvison De Los Santos filling in at the cold corner in his absence.

He’ll presumably replace an IL-bound Christopher Morel. De Los Santos went 2-for-4 with a homer and a walk for Jacksonville tonight. The Marlins presumably will give him a fair amount of playing time at first for now, with Connor Norby moving around between first, third and DH.

In spite of a rough spring, Morel was expected to serve as the Marlins’ primary first baseman. Perhaps it’s jumping the gun, but one imagines he’ll have to wait a few weeks now, and who knows if the job will still be there when he gets back? Owen Caissie, who was going to sit versus lefty Kyle Freeland, was inserted in Morel’s place, with Connor Norby switching from DH to first base. Deyvison De Los Santos could be called up if Morel goes on the IL.

Morel finally broke through and got the Marlins on the board with a run-scoring single off of Clay Holmes in the seventh inning. That wound up being the only run that either team would score in the contest. He’s having a rough spring overall at the plate, hitting just .172 (5-for-29) with zero homers, four RBI and one stolen base in his first 32 plate appearances.

Morel is hardly alone in struggling for the Marlins, who managed just two hits today against the Astros. The team’s 54 runs this spring are 16 fewer than any other club has scored. Six teams have at least doubled that total. Still, Morel obviously needs to hit in order to justify a starting job at first base. The Marlins could use Griffin Conine there, potentially opening up more time for Graham Pauley.

Morel opened the scoring in the ballgame as he blasted a run-scoring triple off of Brad Lord in the top half of the first inning. That would be his lone hit in three at-bats on the day. For the spring, the 26-year-old slugger is hitting just .231 (3-for-13) with three RBI and a 4/0 K/BB ratio.

Marsee hasn’t generated a ton of fantasy hype this offseason despite hitting .292/.363/.478 with five homers and 14 steals in a 55-game big-league debut late last year. The 24-year-old speedster doesn’t strike out a ton and boasts the on-base ability required to occupy the leadoff spot long-term. He’s come off the board right around 150th overall in NFBC drafts since the start of February, which makes him a top-30 range fantasy outfielder with 15-homer, 30-steal upside. Here is the full lineup: Marsee (CF), Agustín Ramírez (C), Christopher Morel (1B), Griffin Conine (RF), Connor Norby (3B), Heriberto Hernández (LF), Javier Sanoja (2B), Maximo Acosta (SS) and Ryan Ignoffo (DH).

The deal is now official. Morel arrives in Miami with the expectation that he’ll take over as their starting first baseman entering next season. The 26-year-old possesses an interesting blend of talent and raw power but he’s struck out just a shade over 30 percent of the time in 1,770 plate appearances in the majors since 2022. He struggled to an underwhelming .208/.277/.355 slash line with 11 homers and seven steals over 105 games this past season for the Rays. He’s the textbook definition of a low-probability lottery ticket for Miami as they search for a solution at the cold corner.

Heyman is the first to report the financial terms of the agreement, which surfaced earlier this week. The move comes as a bit of a surprise since the Marlins are bringing Morel in with the expectation that he’ll play first base next season, something he hasn’t done before. The 26-year-old possesses an interesting blend of talent and raw power but he’s struck out just a shade over 30 percent of the time in 1,770 plate appearances in the majors since 2022. He’s the textbook definition of a low-probability lottery ticket for Miami as they search for a solution at the cold corner.