Hilarious NY Mets trade rumors with the Cubs resurface after Christopher Morel signing

The New York Mets aren’t calling it quits completely. On Tuesday, they signed Christopher Morel to a minor league deal. The intention here is pretty clear and not too different from what they hoped to get out of MJ Melendez and briefly did.

Morel has hit for power in the past, most notably with the Chicago Cubs early in his career. Unfortunately, the strikeouts were plentiful, the defense was bad, and the batting average looks more like playing weight than a statistic. Morel heads to Syracuse where the Mets will hope to maybe get something from him. No remaining minor league options, he seems very temporary unless there’s a magic wand someone can wave over him.

Upon his signing, SNY contributor Joe DeMayo was kind enough to remind everyone of one of the more hilarious Mets trade rumors. There was a time not too long ago when the Cubs believed Morel could headline a trade for Pete Alonso.

The Mets avoided an all-time blunder by not making this trade

Yeah, maybe the Mets do win the trade in the end with Morel as the centerpiece for Alonso. Perhaps it’s the second or third player involved in the deal which ends up working out well in New York. These Mets rumors occurred after the 2023 season before David Stearns began to put his stamp on the ball club. Almost three revolutions around the sun later, this would have been an absolute disaster.

Morel was coming off of a strong sophomore season with the Cubs in 2023 when he hit .247/.313/.508 with 26 home runs and 70 RBI. It didn’t take long for things to take a turn for the worst. As much as Alonso struggled in 2024, Morel was far worse. He hit .199 for the Cubs before they traded him to the Tampa Bay Rays as part of the Isaac Paredes deal.

Over the last three seasons since Morel was apparently a trade chip for the Cubs to help them land Alonso, Morel has batted .201/.283/.351 with a -1.4 WAR. He’s averaging 171.9 strikeouts per 162 games. Versatile yet positionless at the same time, his most recent major league stint took place with the Miami Marlins. He hit .161 without a single home run in 73 plate appearances. The one thing he could do well wasn’t showing up hence his release.

As a recently turned 27-year-old, Morel is at a similar crossroads of his career as players like Mark Vientos and Brett Baty. Morel’s best major league season isn’t as good as what Vientos did in 2024, but with experience in the outfield as well as the corner infield spots, the footing is a little more equal.

In the summer of 2024 when the Mets had yet to establish themselves fully in the playoff race, FanSided’s Cody Williams put together a different trade package involving Alonso. This one would have sent Jefferson Rojas and Brennan Davis to New York.

Rojas is now the number one ranked Cubs prospect. Davis flamed out quickly and has been on minor league free agent deals with the New York Yankees and currently with the Seattle Mariners. At 26 with no MLB experience yet, he wouldn’t have provided the Mets with all that much more than Morel.

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