Marlins in agreement with free agent Christopher Morel on 1-year deal

[Kevin Barral]

Just after the 2025 Winter Meetings ended earlier this week, the Miami Marlins reached an agreement on Friday afternoon with Christopher Morel. It will be a one-year big league deal, sources tell Fish On First. Morel is getting $2 million, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

Morel, 26, spent the 2025 season with the Tampa Bay Rays, slashing .219/.289/.396/.684 with 11 home runs, 33 RBI and a 90 wRC+. He was designated for assignment at the end of the season and elected free agency after going unclaimed. He spent most of the season in left field. A source tells Fish On First that they expect him to play first base as well, a position he has never played in his career.

The Marlins are buying low on Morel in hopes that he can recapture his 2023 season, where he slashed .247/.313/.508/.821 with 26 home runs, 70 RBI and a 120 wRC+. In the middle of the 2024 season, he was shipped off to the Rays with two other players in exchange for Isaac Paredes. He was never able to get it going with the Rays after that.

A main reason for Morel's struggles has been his high strikeout percentage. In 2025, he struck out 35.7% of the time, which is a career-worst. The hope here is that they can help him cut down on the K%. In a best-case scenario, he could follow in the footsteps of Kyle Stowers (35.4 K% in 2024 and 27.4 K% in 2025). Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic cites hitting coach Pedro Guerrero as a key part of this acquisition.

Despite having a great arm—ranking in the 93rd percentile of arm strength, per Baseball Savant—Morel posted minus-five defensive runs saved in left field, and has never been able to find a home defensively. Maybe the move to first base can help him establish himself defensively, opening up for more production on the offensive side.

It is worth noting that Morel has two more arbitration years after 2026. That gives the Marlins club control of him through the 2028 season. He doesn't have any minor league options remaining.

Morel was being pursued by teams in both Japan and Korea, according to Francys Romero. It's unclear if any other MLB teams were willing to offer him a guaranteed major league deal.

Ely Sussman's updated Opening Day roster projection has Eric Wagaman losing his spot to make room for Morel. We could possibly see Morel in a platoon situation, with Liam Hicks or Graham Pauley getting starts at first base against tough right-handed pitchers.

The Marlins 40-man roster will be at 40 players once the deal is announced.

 

Per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, the Marlins are trying to acquire another bat via trade.

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[JustMarlins]

So is this an upgrade over Wagaman? Or is this a lateral move? I’m finding it a challenge to garner much enthusiasm over this. 
 

The upside is there. But gambling on a position player after last year’s success growth has me feeling a bit skeptical.

And are we even sure that Morel will be playing 1B? What if he is given the hot corner and another 1Bman is brought in? 

I was hoping for more of a slam dunk in terms of production for a 1B signing.

I hope Bendix proves me wrong. 

[Shawn]

Huge move the marlins are really in the mix now! More dumpster diving, if Sherman can’t afford to spend anything, then the league needs to step in. This is zero upgrade from wagabum and a waste of a 40 man roster spot. I wasn’t expecting naylor, or the polar bear but dam you can’t afford O’Hearn. They make it very hard to be a fan. 

[BMK3]

Frankly, I like Wagaman better.  I assume the Marlins player evaluators see something that I don't. This guy is a strike out machine with occasional pop. Sounds like Eric.

[UKPhil]

If you want to improve the team and be competitive, you might sign Ryan O'Hearn or Nathaniel Lowe.

If you want to keep your costs down, sign Christopher Morel. It might be dead money after a year, but you've kept your costs below what you get from MLB. and improved your profit that way, or you improve the value of the player, which gives you a trading chip further along the line.

It is not about being the best team possible, it is about making as much money as possible.

[MarlinzDude86]

I doubt he plays 1B. Looks like Bendix is still considering a trade for Mayo. Cabrera for Mayo is a big move I'm hoping for.

[JustMarlins]

13 hours ago, MarlinzDude86 said:

I doubt he plays 1B. Looks like Bendix is still considering a trade for Mayo. Cabrera for Mayo is a big move I'm hoping for.

I agree. It feels like this is all just noise. 
 

In addition, I’m not so sure Wagaman will be let go. I could see him coming back next season. I started doing some digging and realized that he wasn’t horrible against left-handed pitching. 
 

In 2025 specifically vs LHP (using RotoWire aggregated splits):

 

• AVG: .283
• OBP: .321
• SLG: .462
• OPS: .783
• PA: ~184
• HR: 5
• RBI: 26

If Bendix decides to hold on to Wagaman, finding a left handed hitting complement to Wagaman would be the way to go. Maybe moving Conine to 1st would solve this issue. 
 

If that’s the case, Morel could move to the OF in lieu of Conine. Cabrera can then be kept. If the team is out of it in July, he can then be traded. 
 

Im just trying to make sense of it all. 

[Hippyboi]

22 hours ago, JustMarlins said:

I agree. It feels like this is all just noise. 
 

In addition, I’m not so sure Wagaman will be let go. I could see him coming back next season. I started doing some digging and realized that he wasn’t horrible against left-handed pitching. 
 

In 2025 specifically vs LHP (using RotoWire aggregated splits):

 

• AVG: .283
• OBP: .321
• SLG: .462
• OPS: .783
• PA: ~184
• HR: 5
• RBI: 26

If Bendix decides to hold on to Wagaman, finding a left handed hitting complement to Wagaman would be the way to go. Maybe moving Conine to 1st would solve this issue. 
 

If that’s the case, Morel could move to the OF in lieu of Conine. Cabrera can then be kept. If the team is out of it in July, he can then be traded. 
 

Im just trying to make sense of it all. 

Don't waste your time. Saving $$$ is the only thing that makes sense here.

[Jose Herrera]

Yay! Hope he and Javier do well in the super-utility role.