First-Time Arbitration Eligible Rays Player Set for Sizable Salary Raise

A Tampa Bay Rays positional player is set for a nice raise in his first year of arbitration eligibility.

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There isn’t a team in the MLB that is going to be busier with potential arbitration cases this winter than the Tampa Bay Rays. They have the most players eligible for arbitration in the sport, with 17.

One of the positional players who is eligible is the versatile Christopher Morel. He was acquired ahead of the MLB trade deadline in 2024 from the Chicago Cubs, along with breakout pitching prospect Ty Johnson and relief pitcher Hunter Bigge, in exchange for third baseman Isaac Paredes.

It was a deal that the Rays looked to have won handily, especially with the Cubs moving Paredes this offseason in another deal. He was traded to the Houston Astros, where he was an All-Star again.

Johnson has turned into the crown jewel, being named the Pitcher of the Year in Double-A Southern League, but Morel did provide the team with a boost himself. That has put him in a position to cash in this offseason, arbitration eligible for the first time in his career.

How much is Christopher Morel projected to earn in arbitration?

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After earning $767,000 for the 2025 season, MLB Trade Rumors has projected Morel for a sizable raise. With 3.117 years of service time, he could earn more than three times that amount in 2026, with a projection of $2.6 million.

He showed improvement across the board after being acquired last summer in the middle of the 2024 campaign. In his first 49 games and 190 plate appearances with Tampa Bay, he had a .191/.258/.289 slash line with a -0.8 bWAR and 57 OPS+.

Morel still had an underwhelming bWAR of -0.3, but he was more impactful. He had a .219/.289/.396 slash line with an OPS+ of 90. A solid power/speed combination was provided with 11 home runs, 16 doubles and seven stolen bases.

There is certainly some hope that his numbers will improve in 2026 with some of the impressive metrics he possesses. He didn’t have enough plate appearances to qualify, but his bat speed (76.0 mph), average exit velocity (91.8 mph), barrel rate (14.8%) and hard-hit rate (49.7%) are all elite.

Christopher Morel comes through with some much-needed insurance!

He has driven in four of the six Rays runs tonight pic.twitter.com/XWYJFfCLbL

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) September 22, 2025

Morel is an above-average baserunner with a 28.0 mph sprint speed and a Baserunning Run Value of +1.

Some incredible versatility is provided defensively as well. While mostly playing left field with the Rays, he has registered innings in center field and right field, along with third base, second base and shortstop.

Knowing he can handle so many different positions gives the front office some flexibility when it comes to filling out the rest of the roster this offseason.