The Chicago Cubs are no strangers to making big trades. They have made a number of them over the last few months.

Early in the offseason, they pulled off a blockbuster to acquire right fielder Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros in exchange for veteran third baseman Isaac Paredes, pitcher Hayden Wesneski and top prospect Cam Smith.

That trade package was only possible because of a surprising deal the Cubs made ahead of the deadline last July.

Despite being on the fringe of the playoff race and selling some of their most valuable pieces, Chicago acquired Paredes, one of the top hitters available on the market, from the Tampa Bay Rays.

To complete the deal, the Cubs sent Christopher Morel, right-handed minor league pitcher Ty Johnson and right-handed pitcher Hunter Bigge to the Rays.

Bigge was solid for Tampa Bay out of their bullpen, but the main asset coming back in the deal was the versatile Morel.

He fits the mold of the exact kind of player that money-conscious franchise normally targets. Not capable of spending big money in free agency, the Rays have to find as much value as they can with players under team control for several years.

Morel remains under team control through the 2028 campaign.

However, if he wants to retain an everyday role for the team in 2025 and moving forward, he will have to play better.

In 49 games and 190 plate appearances, Morel recorded a brutal -1.0 WAR according to FanGraphs. A solid enough offensive player up to that point to offset his underwhelming defensive numbers, his production at the plate fell off a cliff.

In the first two seasons as a Major Leaguer, he had a wRC+ of 116; in 2024, it plummeted to an 82.

However, there is reason to believe that better days are on the horizon, as Morel is projected to be one of the most improved hitters in baseball in 2025.

As shared by Thomas Harrigan of MLB.com, he is expected to have the second-largest jump in WAR amongst players who had at least 450 plate appearances last year. The plus-2.4 improvement trails only Michael Harris of the Atlanta Braves, who is projected to be plus-3.0.

Some brutal luck is partly to blame for Morel’s lack of success with the bat in 2024.

“However, poor batted ball luck (.233 BABIP) was largely to blame for Morel’s struggles, as evidenced by his .316 expected wOBA, which was 36 points higher than his actual wOBA of .280,” Harrigan wrote.

FanGraphs believes that a solid bounce back will be in store, with projections of a 112 wRC+ and 1.4 WAR buoying his success.