Marlins place – The Miami Marlins designated infielder Christopher Morel for assignment and placed slugger Liam Hicks on the injured list due to a lower back strain ahead of Sunday’s game against the San Francisco Giants.
MIAMI — The Marlins moved quickly Saturday night, making two roster changes that sharpened the stakes for the homestand and reshaped their lineup plans before Sunday’s game against the San Francisco Giants.
Miami designated infielder Christopher Morel for assignment and placed slugger Liam Hicks on the injured list because of a lower back strain. The Hicks move came after he led the Marlins with 13 home runs and 53 RBIs, but he was a late scratch after being in the lineup Saturday.
Morel’s turnaround never arrived. The Marlins signed him to a $2 million, one-year contract in the offseason expecting a power bat, yet in his brief stint in Miami he hit .162 and produced no home runs in 22 games. Even while he remained on the active roster, he had not played since June 10.
Marlins manager Clayton McCullough summed up the feeling of a difficult run by pointing to how Morel handled the process. “Chris is a real pro. He handled himself well through the difficult tenure here and wish him the best,” McCullough said.
For the Marlins, the decision also carried the weight of timing and opportunity. Morel’s season began on the injured list after he sustained an oblique injury during batting practice before the March 27 season opener. He was activated on April 27. but he couldn’t crack the lineup consistently. and his batting slump deepened until the club decided to cut ties.
McCullough said the opening-day injury set the tone early and limited what the team could ask of him later. “Coming into the season we had the high hopes that Christopher could turn around the talent ability that he has and kind of refine the ’22. ’23 version. and it just didn’t happened. ” he said. “The injury opening day set him back and the opportunities he had here became more limited over the last week to 10 days.”.
Morel’s résumé still speaks loudly: the 26-year-old hit 16 home runs in his rookie year with the Chicago Cubs in 2022 and followed with 26 the next season. He was traded to Tampa Bay midway through the 2024 season and stayed with the Rays until he became a free agent at the end of 2025.
After Morel’s departure, Miami made corresponding moves to keep its roster flexible. The Marlins activated outfielder Griffin Conine from the injured list and selected the contract of Brian Navarreto from Triple-A Jacksonville.
Miami Marlins Christopher Morel Liam Hicks Clayton McCullough injured list DFA San Francisco Giants Griffin Conine Brian Navarreto
Always weird when they just DFA someone after one bad stretch.
Hicks on the IL is gonna hurt, but Morel batting .162 in 22 games is like… cmon. I don’t get why they signed him for $2 mil if he was basically doing nothing the whole time.
Wait so they placed Hicks on the injured list for a lower back strain right before playing the Giants, but he was a late scratch Saturday. So was he actually hurt or is it just the team being scared? Also Morel hadn’t played since June 10?? That seems like a whole season missing, how is that even allowed.
DFA Morel?? I feel like teams do this way too fast and act like money just disappears. He had legit power with the Cubs and Tampa, so blaming an oblique injury opening day feels like an excuse. Meanwhile Hicks had 13 homers and 53 RBIs and they’re sidelining him, which makes it sound like the Marlins don’t even plan ahead. Next they’ll blame the schedule or “timing” again.