Apr 3, 2023; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; A general view of a Tampa Bay Rays hat and glove during the seventh inning of the game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Scott Taetsch-Imagn Images Scott Taetsch-Imagn Images

Rays Infielder Facing Backlash; Labeled Tampa Bay's 'Worst Player'

Originally posted on Fastball on SI | By Zach Pressnell | Last updated Sep 24, 2025 7:20 PM ET

The Tampa Bay Rays have been a consistent postseason contender for the last decade or so, but they fell out of contention this year. Tampa Bay is playing in one of the toughest divisions in baseball, led by three postseason clubs.

The Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and Toronto Blue Jays don't make life easy for the Rays. Each of these teams have a solid chance to come away with the World Series title at the end of the year. With talent like that in the division, the Rays didn't have much of a chance to compete this year with the current state of their lineup.

However, the players on the roster haven't done them any favors. A lot of players have underperformed this year, hurting the Rays more than the competition in the division has.

Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report recently shared some harsh criticism of young Rays infielder Christopher Morel. Morel has struggled all season and Miller labeled him as the Rays' worst player of the season.

Christopher Morel's season has been quite a disaster for the Rays

"Last summer, the Rays put together one of the more aggressive trade deadline fire sales in recent memory, part of which was shipping Randy Arozarena to the Mariners and shortly thereafter bringing in Christopher Morel from the Cubs," Miller wrote. "But while Arozarena closes in on a possible 30/30 season as one of the most valuable players for a Mariners team that is going to make the playoffs, the Morel Experiment in Tampa has been a disaster, the Rays going 42-60 when he plays compared to 34-20 when he doesn't."

Morel was added last year at the trade deadline, but he hasn't been very productive in Tampa Bay.

The infielder is still young, so the book is open for now, but there's no denying how poorly he's played this year.

If Morel could have been a breakout star this year, the Rays would have had a chance to compete. They needed everything to go their way, but with a potential star like Morel playing like a bottom tier hitter in the league, the Rays aren't much of a competitive club.

More MLB: Mariners Pitcher Under Fire; Labeled Seattle's 'Worst Player' Of 2025

This article first appeared on Fastball on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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