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One day before Anthony Rizzo officially returns to the Chicago Cubs' organization after announcing his retirement earlier this week, another Cubs fan favorite is set to make his Wrigley Field return on Friday afternoon. As the Cubs prepare to host the Tampa Bay Rays this weekend, Christopher Morel will make his return to the Friendly Confines for the first time since being traded last season.
Trading Morel ahead of the 2024 MLB trade deadline marked one of the boldest moves of Jed Hoyer's tenure as the Cubs' President of Baseball Operations. Morel was the enigmatic leader of the Cubs, and while his bat flashed signs of carrying the team's starting lineup, the Cubs' offense was in desperate need of a shakeup. For Hoyer, that meant moving Morel to the Rays for Isaac Paredes.
Used exclusively as an outfielder this season with the Rays, Morel hasn't quite found the offensive success he had with the Cubs during the first two years of his career. Through 269 plate appearances, Morel is slashing .227/.290/.405 with a wRC+ of 91 and 10 home runs. Strikeouts remain the biggest thing holding Morel back, as the 26-year-old is striking out over 36% of the time this season.
Cubs fans won’t believe who’s back at Wrigley this weekend
In other words, despite what some fans believed at the time, the Cubs did not make a mistake with their decision to trade Morel. Morel has the athleticism to play multiple positions, but as the Cubs found out, that didn't necessarily make him a good fielder. Morel was best in the outfield, and considering the crop of outfield prospects that the Cubs already had, a positional change wouldn't have made the most sense. Not to mention, trading Morel was the move that ultimately led to the Cubs acquiring Kyle Tucker last offseason.
That's not to discredit Morel's run with the Cubs. Between hitting a home run in his first Major League at-bat or the walk-off home run he hit against the Chicago White Sox in 202, there is no shortage of memories from Morel's time on the North Side. Memories that likely forced Cubs fans to value him more than his production suggested. Nonetheless, seeing him return to Wrigley Field this weekend will be a feel-good moment as fans work through their anxiety with the playoffs looming.