Rays' Christopher Morel: Absent from starting nine
Rotowire
Morel is out of the lineup for Friday's game against Boston.
After making three straight starts (two in left field, one at DH), Morel will get a night off. Richie Palacios, Jonny DeLuca and Josh Lowe fill the outfield while Brandon Lowe DHs.
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Rays' Christopher Morel: Taking seat Sunday
Rotowire
Morel is not in the lineup for Sunday's contest against the Blue Jays.
Dylan Carlson will patrol left field and bat leadoff for the Rays. The Blue Jays are using a right-handed opener in Ryan Burr and are then expected to turn to lefty Ryan Yarbrough in bulk relief, so Morel is a candidate to enter mid-game.
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Rays' Christopher Morel: Not in Thursday's lineup
Rotowire
Morel is not in the lineup for Thursday's contest against the Red Sox.
Morel had started the last two games after missing the two contests prior to that with a sore Achilles. His absence from the lineup Thursday appears to be a routine day off. Most of Morel's playing time lately has come in left field, but Dylan Carlson will handle that spot for the Rays on Thursday.
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Rays' Christopher Morel: Absence continuing Sunday
Rotowire
Morel (Achilles) is out of the lineup Sunday against the Guardians.
It's the second straight game on the bench for Morel after he exited Friday's contest due to right Achilles discomfort. He'll also have Monday's team off day to help in his recovery before Tuesday's series opener versus Boston.
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Rays' Christopher Morel: Sitting Saturday
Rotowire
Morel (Achilles) is not in Saturday's lineup against Cleveland.
Morel was forced to exit Friday's game after suffering a leg injury while running the bases. The injury isn't believed to be serious, but Morel will get at least one more day to rest.
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Rays' Christopher Morel: Exits with injury
Rotowire
Morel was removed from Friday's game versus Cleveland due to right Achilles discomfort, Ryan Bass of Bally Sports Sun reports.
Morel appeared to tweak his lower leg while turning back to first base after hitting a single in the third inning, and he ended up getting pulled for a pinch runner. The severity of his injury remains unknown, though it's possible the Rays will give him a day or two off even if it isn't too serious.
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Rays' Christopher Morel: Sitting Friday
Rotowire
Morel is not in Friday's lineup against the Orioles.
This is only Morel's second time out of the lineup in the last 10 games, even though he is hitting .191 with 42 strikeouts and three home runs in 31 games since getting traded to Tampa Bay. Jose Caballero draws the start at second base while Taylor Walls mans shortstop.
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Rays' Christopher Morel: Absent from Tampa Bay lineup
Rotowire
Morel is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game versus the Twins.
It's a routine day off for Morel, who had started each of the previous eight games. Brandon Lowe will cover second base and Junior Caminero will be in the designated hitter slot for the Rays.
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Rays' Christopher Morel: Not in Sunday's lineup
Rotowire
Morel is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Dodgers, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Morel posted a .907 OPS while starting the past seven games but will sit for Sunday's series finale in Los Angeles. Yandy Diaz will receive a turn at designated hitter while Brandon Lowe shifts to first base and Jose Caballero starts at second.
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Rays' Christopher Morel: Belts homer in Rays debut
Rotowire
Morel went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored during Tuesday's 9-3 win over the Marlins.
Morel went yard in his second at-bat as a Ray, tagging Edward Cabrera for a solo homer in the fourth inning. Morel drew the start at second base Tuesday, his first time playing the position this season after working as a third baseman and DH for the Cubs. Tuesday's homer was Morel's 19th of the season, and he's slashing .199/.303/.380 with 52 RBI and 45 runs across 426 plate appearances.
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Rays' Christopher Morel: Heading to Tampa Bay
Rotowire
The Rays acquired Morel and prospects Hunter Bigge and Ty Johnson in exchange for Isaac Paredes on Sunday, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports.
Morel went 0-for-1 in Sunday's game at Kansas City before being pulled due to the trade. The 25-year-old has a .199/.302/.373 slash line with 18 homers and a 47:102 BB:K in 421 plate appearances this season. Morel's role in Tampa Bay should be similar to the one he had in Chicago, splitting time between third base and designated hitter.
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Cubs' Christopher Morel: Sitting down Friday
Rotowire
Morel isn't in the Cubs' lineup for Friday's game against the Royals.
Morel will get a day to clear his head Friday after going 0-for-6 with four strikeouts during Chicago's previous series against the Brewers. Miles Mastrobuoni will start at the hot corner instead while batting seventh.
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Cubs' Christopher Morel: Launches two homers in win
Rotowire
Morel went 2-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI in Sunday's 8-3 win over the Cardinals.
Morel hit a two-run blast in the sixth inning and a solo shot in the eighth to pad the Cubs' lead in the contest. This was his first multi-hit effort since June 22, though he's hit safely in 10 of 12 games in July, batting .229 (11-for-48) for the month. Overall, Morel has 18 long balls, 50 RBI, 42 runs scored and seven stolen bases through 96 contests, though he's slashing a light .202/.303/.387 on the year.
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Cubs' Christopher Morel: Getting breather Saturday
Rotowire
Morel isn't in the Cubs' lineup Saturday against the Angels.
Morel has put together a three-game hitting streak, though he has also struck out six times in 12 at-bats over that span. He'll take a day to rest Saturday while David Bote fills in at third base, batting eighth.
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Cubs' Christopher Morel: In Thursday's lineup
Rotowire
Morel (foot) is starting at third base and batting cleanup Thursday against the Reds.
Morel was taken out of Wednesday's game after fouling a ball off his left foot, but he appears to be feeling well enough to return to the Cubs' lineup without a day off. The 24-year-old has posted just a .203 batting average so far this season, but he has been heating up recently, going 6-for-19 with two homers, three RBI and six runs scored across his last six games.
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Cubs' Christopher Morel: In lineup as DH on Tuesday
Rotowire
Morel (toe) will start at designated hitter and bat cleanup in Tuesday's game in Atlanta.
Morel had to exit Monday's contest after fouling a ball off his left foot, but he's fine. It's his first start at DH in more than a week, which will free up third base for Patrick Wisdom on Tuesday.
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Cubs' Christopher Morel: Goes deep, swipes bag
Rotowire
Morel went 1-for-5 with a two-run homer, a walk and a steal in Monday's loss to the Padres.
Morel put the Cubs on the board with his two-run shot in the sixth inning after snagging a steal earlier in the contest. He has five hits over his last five games and four of them have left the yard. The 24-year-old is slashing .220/.315/.449 with 12 extra-base hits (eight home runs), four stolen bases and 23 RBI through 35 games this season.
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Cubs' Christopher Morel: Homers again Friday
Rotowire
Morel went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 3-1 loss to the Brewers.
Morel snapped a scoreless tie with two outs in the sixth inning, launching a solo shot to centerfield off Joe Ross to put the Cubs ahead 1-0. Morel now has homers in back-to-back games and three in his last five contests following a span of 16 games without a long ball. The 24-year-old third baseman is slashing .210/.286/.403 through 133 plate appearances this year with six homers, 18 RBI, 19 runs scored and three stolen bases.
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Cubs' Christopher Morel: Nabs second steal
Rotowire
Morel went 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base in Tuesday's 4-2 loss to the Mets.
The steal was his second of the season, and both pilfers have come in his last eight contests. Morel is struggling to get going with his bat, however -- through 29 games he's slashing a meager .215/.292/.374 with four homers, 14 RBI and 17 runs.
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Cubs' Christopher Morel: Hits go-ahead home run
Rotowire
Morel went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Monday's 3-1 win over the Mets.
Morel was hitless until the ninth inning, when he delivered a two-out home run with a runner on against New York closer Edwin Diaz to break open a 1-1 tie. The key blast was Morel's fourth of the season and first since April 9. He's not off to as fast of a start as he had last year, but the 24-year-old can heat up in a hurry, and perhaps this effort will provide the spark.
