Impatient Marlins welcome back Griffin Conine, DFA disappointing Christopher Morel

The Miami Marlins have been waiting. 

The impatient franchise marked its time until Griffin Conine healed enough to come off the 60-day injured list. The outfielder injured his hamstring attempting to make a defensive play against the Cincinnati Reds on April 9. 

Meanwhile, infielder Christopher Morel tested the front office's patience a bit too long. An offseason free-agent acquisition, Morel was expected to provide power to the Marlins' lineup, signing a one-year, $2 million deal.

He batted .162 and failed to generate a home run for 22 games.

With Conine healthy and ready to be activated, the Marlins designated Morel for assignment before Sunday's 2-1 win over the San Francisco Giants at loanDepot park.

Slugger Liam Hicks (back) was also placed on IL.

Marlins' Griffin Conine replaces Christopher Morel

Conine batted second and went 0-for-4 with one strikeout. Kyle Stowers scored both runs, including a second-inning home run off underrated starting pitcher Logan Webb (4-5), who completed an 8-inning outing after yielding two earned runs on five hits.

The Marlins quit waiting for Morel to produce. The five-year big leaguer had remained on the bench since June 10, an 0-for-4 performance against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Morel opened the regular season on the IL after sustaining an oblique injury in late March. Activated on April 27, Morel failed to flash the early-career power he displayed with the Chicago Cubs, collecting 60 combined homers from 2022-24.

"Coming into the season, we had the high hopes that Christopher could turn around the talent ability that he has and kind of refine the '22, '23 version, and it just didn't happen," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said, as reported by ESPN. "The injury Opening Day set him back and the opportunities he had here became more limited over the last week to 10 days."

Hicks, the Marlins' leader in home runs (13) and RBI (53), was a late scratch Sunday.

Can Conine fill the voids?

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