3 Chicago Cubs players who are absolutely untouchable at the trade deadline

3. Christopher Morel

There have admittedly been legitimate frustrations with Christopher Morel this year. His bat has fallen short of expectations, as he is only slashing .201/.303/.379 on the year with an OPS of .682. Those are not healthy numbers for a guy who figures to have the best raw power on the team. Unfortunately, Morel hasn't been able to put it all together yet, because his defense at third base has also been fairly suspect and has been a significant factor in the team's overall defensive decline.

Reports from last month suggested the team was looking at alternatives at third base, which included Matt Shaw and now new first-round draft pick Cam Smith. Shaw could be a big-league contributor next season but Smith has not even played a professional baseball game yet so he is years away. The Cubs' best play would be to let Morel continue to work on his mechanics at third for the remainder of the season since they aren't worried about competing anymore. If things don't improve enough, signing a stopgap player like Gio Urshela or J.D. Davis in the offseason may be warranted while Morel becomes the full-time designated hitter.

In any case, a team that is starved for power-hitting like the Cubs should not be trading a 25-year-old guy with 30-home run potential. There's still time for Morel to develop and trading him now would be handing another team a potential star. On the glove side, Morel has yet to log a full season of work at third base so again, there is still time for him to improve.