Christopher Morel’s absence from this weekend’s Cubs Convention was due to a visa issue that prevented him from traveling to Chicago, according to a message on his Instagram account and team sources who relayed similar information.
“The rumors that he’s not here because of trade stuff is laughable,” team president Jed Hoyer said during Saturday’s Q&A session, acknowledging the speculation floating around social media and the Sheraton Grand hotel with so many fans, players, reporters and Cubs personnel gathered in one place.
Ruling out a Morel deal at this moment is not the same as giving him a full no-trade clause. Morel is not an on-base machine, nor has he found a defensive home on a team that has several plus defenders on multiyear contracts. Bluffing is part of the game for any front office. But this is a good time to focus on what Morel can do, not what he hasn’t done yet.
Because it’s not like the Cubs are overloaded with players who have star potential. Morel is only 24 years old and under club control through the 2028 season. There’s an electricity to his game that’s hard to find. His constant energy and positive attitude can’t be faked.
Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins, who previously spent 14 years in Cleveland’s baseball operations department, name-dropped José Ramírez, who originally signed as a teenager out of the Dominican Republic and developed into a perennial MVP candidate.
“I don’t want to compare talent because it’s not fair to Mo,” Hawkins said. “But we had similar questions back in 2014 and 2015. Where is José Ramírez going to play? He was a shortstop coming up and (Francisco) Lindor was playing shortstop. (Jason) Kipnis was playing second. Can (Ramírez) play third? Can he play the outfield? I don’t know. But we think this guy can hit. We’re going to figure out a way to get him in the lineup. It’s a really similar question that we’re working through with Chris. He can hit. We have to figure out ways to get him in the lineup.”
Craig Counsell, the game’s highest-paid manager, doesn’t have all the answers. Counsell doesn’t see the point in making any declarations in the middle of January. The addition of a free agent such as Cody Bellinger or Gold Glove third baseman Matt Chapman by spring training would obviously change the daily puzzle that Counsell consistently solved during his nine years managing the Milwaukee Brewers.
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