Marlins Suffer Another Early-Season Injury That Requires an IL Stint
In this story:
When the Miami Marlins signed Christopher Morel as the only free agent positional signing over the winter, it was surprising in terms of the way they are going to use him. President of baseball operations Peter Bendix made it clear that the Marlins were planning on using him at first base.
He opened some eyes since he had never played the position before with the Chicago Cubs or Tampa Bay Rays. He spent spring training working on playing the position and it went well enough that second-year manager Clayton McCullough penciled him in to start the season opener on Friday night at home against the Colorado Rockies.
However, a few hours before the game, it was announced that Morel was scratched from the lineup against the Rockies. It was reported by Christina De Nicola of MLB.com during the game that he was scratched with a left oblique strain. On Saturday, the club announced that he was going on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to March 25.
Marlins Place Christopher Morel on 10-Day Injured List
After the season-opening 2-1 win over Colorado, Fish On First's Kevin Barrel reported that the Marlins were calling up Deyvison De Los Santos from Triple-A Jacksonville. On Saturday, the club confirmed the report when Morel was placed on the IL.
We’ve made the following roster moves: pic.twitter.com/8QNQ3yeEUw
— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) March 28, 2026
Along with signing Morel to play first base, Miami also made the move, hoping to help Morel find his offensive breakout season of 2023 with the Cubs. Since slashing .247/.313/.508 with 26 home runs and 70 RBIs in 107 games, Morel's offensive numbers have gone downhill. Last season with Tampa Bay, he slashed .219/.289/.396 with 11 home runs and 33 runs driven in 105 games.
McCullough shifted things around when Morel was scratched and Connor Norby was moved to first base. Earlier this spring, McCullough hinted that Norby could play both infield corner positions and that was put to the test at first base before the first pitch was thrown on a new season.
"I caught every ball, had a ground ball, caught a popup, thought it was pretty good overall," Norby said. "I know there are going to be some growing pains, could happen at any point. But I've been working hard the last couple days, and obviously I'm going to continue to work hard over there and get more comfortable, and comfortability comes with reps. But I thought it was a good first night."
As for Morel, he joins outfielder Kyle Stowers and infielder Maximo Acosta on the injured list to begin the season after both suffered injuries late in spring training.
