The Chicago Cubs are content with leaving Christopher Morel in Iowa for some reason

After the Chicago Cubs went 1-6 on a horrific East Coast road trip against the Miami Marlins and Washington Nationals, they called up top first base prospect Matt Mervis (no. 6) to give the struggling offense a spark. Fans have been clamoring for Mervis and fellow Iowa Cubs teammate Christopher Morel to get called up to the majors for weeks now, as both men have been putting up big numbers in Triple-A. Even though Mervis is getting his shot and will supposedly be playing regularly, Morel's time is not here yet according to manager David Ross.

Ross is basically saying that the way the roster is constructed does not fit Morel right now, which simply is not true. The corresponding move for Mervis coming up was to send Edwin Rios down to Iowa, which is fine because Ross was not using Rios at all really. We all know about the abysmal production Eric Hosmer has been giving at the plate, which culminated in a sacrifice bunt call with two men on and nobody out while down a run in the ninth inning on Wednesday. However, the team seems to really like Hosmer's leadership and clubhouse qualities, which is fine for now as long as he doesn't take playing time away from Mervis. If the team is unwilling to designate Hosmer for assignment yet, then they should send Nick Madrigal back down to Iowa.

I would argue that this roster is not constructed for Nick Madrigal more so than it isn't for Morel. Madrigal is a second baseman that the Cubs are trying to convert into a backup third baseman since Nico Hoerner plays every day at second. His defense has been better than expected at third, but that's all he really brings to the table beside a contact-heavy bat. Madrigal cannot hit for power, his base running is not great and he can only play two positions. Morel can do much more.

It isn't like Morel is an inexperienced prospect because he played most of the 2022 season at the major league level. Morel can also hit for power as he is currently tied for the International League lead with 11 home runs and he sits at the top of the RBI leaderboard with 28. Not only is Morel putting up massive numbers, but he has also been hitting better than Matt Mervis.

This is not to say that Mervis didn't deserve to get called up, because he most certainly did and the Cubs need to figure out if he can produce at the major league level sooner rather than later. This table points out that Morel should also be at the major league level to serve as a super-utility player/ DH. Instead of waiting for someone to go down with an injury, Morel should be available now because as Ross said, he can play every position on the field except for pitcher and catcher. He can give almost everyone on the field a day off and also provide a better bat in pinch-hit scenarios than Madrigal.

If the Cubs are truly looking for a spark, then Morel is the guy. He is a high-energy 23-year-old reminiscent of Javier Baez that probably has a chip on his shoulder after not making the opening day roster last month. He is proving that he can produce by putting up big numbers in Iowa, and he is simply a better baseball player and brings more to the table than Nick Madrigal can.

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