Are Christopher Morel and Michael Busch the Present (and Future) at the Corners?

Things are far from settled on the positional side for the Chicago Cubs this year. Two of the biggest bats still on the market - Cody Bellinger and Matt Chapman - are premier fielders at the two most unsettled spots in the Cubs’ lineup: first base and third base. There’s been plenty said about Bellinger, who had a Comeback Player of the Year-winning season with the Cubs in 2023, and his fit with the Cubs. He could easily play center field while top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong gets a little more seasoning in the minors, or he could immediately take over as the full-time first basemen if PCA is ready right out of the gate this year. His lefty bat would also do wonders for a lineup dominated by righties. 

For all those reasons, the Cubs are still the presumed favorites to sign the former National League MVP when he finally puts pen to paper. For now, though, Bellinger remains a free agent, and the Cubs must move forward with the guys on the roster. As such, the current projected starters at the infield corners at Wrigley Field are Christopher Morel and Michael Busch. 

Morel’s profile is well-known around here. He’s a power-hitting “utility” player who hit 26 home runs and posted an .826 OPS in 429 at-bats in his sophomore season. He’s as toolsy as any player the Cubs have had since Javier Baez; in 2023, he had 90th percentile-or-better marks in average exit velocity, barrel percentage, and hard hit percentage, according to Statcast. When Morel connects, few players in baseball can do as much damage as he can with one swing. 

Beyond his bat, though, Morel is a gifted athlete. His elite top sprint speed gave way to a 94th percentile added value via baserunning, and his arm strength is nearly peerless. He has the profile of an elite defender at nearly any position, making it so frustrating that he has yet to find a long-term defensive home. 24-year-olds with Morel’s athleticism shouldn’t be starting the lion's share of their games at designated hitter, yet that’s exactly what the Dominican Republic native did last year. 

Morel’s defensive flexibility has, to this point, resulted from his inability to find a long-term defensive home rather than a benefit of his unique physical gifts. The Cubs and Morel both sound ready to commit him to one position, and both sides apparently want that defensive home to be at the hot corner. According to manager Craig Counsell, he’ll be getting the “majority” of the team’s work there in Spring Training, hoping he’ll run away with the job that has been available since Kris Bryant was shipped out of town.

As for Busch, the team acquired him in a larger trade that involved top pitching prospect Jackson Ferris going back to the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was a hefty price for a 26-year-old who has yet to establish himself at the major league level, though the bat is, assuredly, for real. In each season of his minor league climb, Busch’s OPS rose, starting with a .496 mark in 2019 (in a tiny, ten-game sample) before peaking last year at 1.049.

Busch should seamlessly fit into the middle of the Cubs’ order as a lefty with power, likely sandwiched between any three of Seiya Suzuki, Dansby Swanson, and Ian Happ. He could immediately step into Cody Bellinger’s spot in the four-hole, though he likely must prove his major league bona fides to Counsell before being trusted. Of course, should the Cubs get one of Boras’ star position players, Busch would make for a top-flight hitter in the bottom third of the lineup.

He has played every position on the infield besides shortstop in his professional career, and he’s even logged a few innings in left and right field each season. Like Morel, his defensive “versatility” isn’t so Ben Zobrist-esque as it is an inability to lock down one spot permanently. Still, Busch is an instinctual fielder who makes routine plays without any headaches. If he does take over first base full-time in 2024, he won’t be the second coming of Anthony Rizzo at the cold corner, but he’ll be a huge improvement over the outright disaster that was the Trey Mancini-Eric Hosmer combo. 

The Cubs have other options beyond those two: Miles Mastrobuoni, Nick Madrigal, Matt Mervis, and the recently signed Dom Smith can all play at least one of the corner infield positions, and the possibility of Bellinger returning still exists. Mastrobuoni is a versatile defender and can supply a left-handed bat to the lineup (and he finished 2023 on a hot stretch). Madrigal is a high-contact bat who finished fifth among all third basemen with eight DRS last season. Mervis is a powerful lefty who slashed .309/.379/.605 with 36 home runs in the minors in 2022. And Smith is a former top prospect with two seasons on his résumé with an OPS over .880. 

Like Morel and Busch, those guys have their caveats - even more so than the two projected starters - but they’re valuable depth and competition if nothing else. However, if the Cubs lineup is going to be as potent as possible, with or without Bellinger, then it has to find a way to include Busch and Morel regularly. If that means forcing both guys into a trial by fire at their new, permanent defensive homes on the infield corners, then so be it.