Cubs fan favorite Christopher Morel hasn't exactly caught fire in Tampa Bay

Remember when Christopher Morel blasted a pair of home runs in his first two games with the Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago Cubs fans thought the sky was falling? Since those two long-balls, Morel has went yard only once and has completely cratered offensively as he tries to settle in with his new team.

As we're all aware, the Cubs sent Christopher Morel, Hunter Bigge and Ty Johnson to the Rays in exchange for third baseman Isaac Paredes in one of the most creative deals of the Jed Hoyer era. Chicago was looking to not only add more power to the lineup, but install someone with a higher floor at the hot corner, both offensively and defensively.

Paredes failed in both of those areas in the early going, but seems to have turned a corner in the last few weeks, slashing .296/.422/.352 since Aug. 26. Unsurprisingly, with that level of production, the Cubs' offense has ranked among the best in baseball during that stretch - giving us all a glimpse of hope as we get ready to close the book on 2024 and look ahead to 2025.

Unfortunately for the Rays and Morel, the 25-year-old has been unable to find his footing in Tampa Bay. Cubs fans are all too familiar with the ebbs and flows in his game and that was on full display this week after Morel booted a fly ball in left field only to turn around and make a highlight reel catch days later.

At the plate, his power - which has always been streaky - has completely evaporated, evidenced by a .306 slugging percentage since the trade. His strikeout rate has spiked, sitting at 30.4 percent and his 64 wRC+ obviously leaves much to be desired. These types of spells are exactly what forced the Cubs to move on from him as they looked for more consistency over the course of the season.

Hopefully, Morel can use the offseason to get comfortable down in Florida and hit the ground running come spring. He's a guy we're all rooting for and it's painful to watch him struggle to this degree when you know he wants nothing more than to put it all together.