3 reasons why Christopher Morel should start at 3rd base every day

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Chicago Cubs manager David Ross has not been keen on starting Christopher Morel at third base recently. Since he was called up from Iowa in early May, Morel has either been the designated hitter or filled in the outfield while Cody Bellinger has been hurt. He has yet to start a game at third base, which is exactly where he should be playing every day. Unfortunately, Ross is keen on turning in head-scratching lineups where Miles Mastrobuoni starts at third and Morel in the outfield. Here are three reasons why third base should be Christopher Morel's position until further notice.

1. Third base is open

The main reason Morel should get regular reps at third is that every other position is blocked out long-term. Shortstop (Dansby Swanson), second base (Nico Hoerner), right field (Ian Happ) and left field (Seiya Suzuki) all have players locked into long-term contracts. First base has been given over to a Trey Mancini and Matt Mervis platoon while Cody Bellinger will play center field in 2023 until top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong makes his way to MLB. That leaves third base as the only home for Morel in the future despite the presence of Patrick Wisdom on the roster.

Yes, Wisdom is a better defensive third baseman than Morel and he is leading the team in home runs, however, it wasn't long ago that Wisdom's defense was average at best. He took the time to improve that skill because he knew he would be playing there every day. However, now that Morel has returned and shown that his bat needs to be in the lineup, Wisdom should be shifted to the primary DH so Morel can settle in at third.

There has been plenty of criticism of Morel's defense at the many positions he plays which is warranted most of the time. But if you truly want him to be a mainstay in this lineup, keeping him at one position is the best move for the future of the Cubs. Ian Happ used to be thought of as an average defender until he was given left field every day, which opened a path for him to improve not only his defense (gold glove winner in 2022), but his offense as well. Now Happ is one of the most consistent hitters on the team and even he credits that to playing every day.

2. He is 8 years younger than Patrick Wisdom

Not to age shame, but it is pretty glaring that Patrick Wisdom is going to be 32 years old while Morel will only be 24 in June. This age gap is large enough to begin grooming Morel to be the everyday third baseman simply because Wisdom will not be on the team as long. Wisdom will be an unrestricted free agent in 2027 when he will be 35 years old. Meanwhile, Morel isn't set to even hit arbitration until 2026. As time goes on, Morel will be closer to his prime while Wisdom gets further away from his meaning Morel has a much higher ceiling. With Wisdom, you know you're going to get a lot of home runs and a lot of strikeouts but Morel's true potential has yet to be fully realized in my opinion.

3. There aren't many free agent options

For the next few years, there are not many notable third basemen hitting free agency. After this season, Matt Chapman will be available assuming the Blue Jays do not offer him a contract extension. He will be 30 years old at the end of this year, meaning he is on the wrong side of 30 and will demand a hefty long-term contract if he continues to hit well. The only other options this upcoming offseason are Jeimer Candelario and Evan Longoria which cannot be considered serious additions to a competing team.

Alex Bregman will hit free agency in 2025 and Yoan Moncada in 2026. Manny Machado and Rafael Devers were recently locked up by the Padres and Red Sox respectively virtually every other star third baseman has been locked up by their teams. Unless the Cubs want to wait to snag one of those guys years from now or stumble into a blockbuster trade, Morel should start being seriously considered now while the team still has time to develop him into a consistent producer.

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