Chicago Cubs Slugger Starting to Improve Defensively at Third Base
There was some worry coming into the season that the Chicago Cubs might not be able to find a defensive position for one of their young sluggers, but he's started to improve.
The Chicago Cubs seemingly had a major need at third base this offseason despite having multiple players on their roster who could theoretically be used at that position.
All three have their strengths and weaknesses.
Nick Madrigal is considered the best defender out of the group, but he doesn't bring a whole lot of pop offensively. Patrick Wisdom does, but he also struggles getting on base and isn't viable defensively as an everyday option.
The Cubs were hoping Christopher Morel would become their guy.
He is the best hitter out of the trio in contention for the starting role, and is also the youngest, allowing Chicago to utilize him there for the foreseeable future while he is in pre-arbitration.
The only thing holding him back was his defense.
In five games played at third base last season, Morel had a fielding percentage of .857.
Still, the Cubs wanted to give the slugger a chance to become an everyday third baseman, especially with new manager Craig Counsell wanting to free up the designated hitter spot to be used by different players.
Early returns for Morel at third were not pretty.
His fielding percentage across 10 games was .857 once again, but it seems like he might have settled in a bit based on his past couple games.
The 24-year-old had a huge play on Saturday that helped Chicago come away with a much-needed 4-1 victory.
"That play he made for Shota … that changes the game right there. They may have the lead if that ball gets into the corner, so. That was a huge play. And he made some real nice plays tonight overall. It was definitely a really big defensive game for Christopher," the skipper told reporters after the game.
That wasn't the only great play he made either.
Morel also snagged a ball out of the air the same inning with runners on second and third to save two runs that would have given the Seattle Mariners the lead.
Instead, they got out of the inning unscathed and held on to win.
If the Cubs can get consistent defensive performances out of Morel like this, that will go a long way in ensuring this lineup can have the most firepower possible with the DH role freed up, while also keeping their defense at a good level.
