Robel García
Robel García | |
---|---|
Cincinnati Reds – No. 71 | |
Second base / Left fielder | |
Born: Las Matas de Farfán, Dominican Republic | March 28, 1993|
Bats: Switch Throws: Right | |
MLB debut | |
July 3, 2019, for the Chicago Cubs | |
MLB statistics (through 2019 season) | |
Batting average | .208 |
Home runs | 5 |
Runs batted in | 11 |
Teams | |
Robel Estiwal García Rodriguez[1] (born March 28, 1993) is a Dominican professional baseball infielder for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut with the Chicago Cubs in 2019.
Career
Cleveland Indians
García signed with the Cleveland Indians as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic in February 2010 at 16 years old. After four seasons, he was released by the Indians on his twenty-first birthday in March 2014.[1] He had topped out in the Class A Midwest League in 2012 and 2013.[2]
After his release, he moved to Verona to be with his Dominican-Italian wife and their children. He began playing independent baseball there in 2016 and joined Fortitudo Bologna of the Italian Baseball League in 2017.[1] In 2018, he played for UnipolSai Bologna and was a member of the Italy national baseball team that played in the 2018 Super 6 Baseball Tournament.[3] García would become a citizen of both the Dominican and Italy.[1]
Chicago Cubs
After being spotted during an exhibition series for Italy in the Arizona Instructional League, García signed a minor league deal with the Cubs in November 2018.[4] He started the 2019 season with the Tennessee Smokies before being promoted to the Iowa Cubs after 22 games.[5]
On July 3, 2019, the Cubs selected García's contract and promoted him to the major leagues.[6] He made his debut that night as a pinch hitter for Brandon Kintzler and struck out in his first at-bat.[7] On July 4, 2019, Robel tripled off Jordan Lyles for his first MLB hit. He also singled and hit a solo home run in the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Cincinnati Reds
García was claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Reds on July 26, 2020.[8]
References
- ^ a b c d Thompson, Phil (July 29, 2019). "Not even a cardboard glove and a roster snub could derail Robel Garcia's remarkable journey from the Dominican Republic to Italy to the Cubs". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
- ^ "Robel Garcia Minor & Winter Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
- ^ Rogers, Phil. "Robel Garcia Well On His Way From Team Italy to Wrigley Field". Forbes.
- ^ Sharma, Sahadev. "'Who is this kid and what's he doing here?' Can Robel..." The Athletic.
- ^ "'He's completely exceeding everybody's expectations': Robel Garcia's surprise rise with the Cubs". Des Moines Register.
- ^ Mark Gonzales (July 3, 2019). "Theo Epstein threatens 'a ton of changes' if Cubs don't improve and then team calls up Robel Garcia". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ^ Jake Crouse (July 3, 2019). "Garcia called up to Cubs amid talk of 'changes'". MLB.com. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
- ^ https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/07/reds-claim-robel-garcia.html
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- 1993 births
- Living people
- People from San Juan Province (Dominican Republic)
- Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States
- Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Italy
- Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic
- Major League Baseball infielders
- Naturalised citizens of Italy
- Chicago Cubs players
- Arizona League Indians players
- Mahoning Valley Scrappers players
- Lake County Captains players
- Fortitudo Baseball Bologna players
- Tennessee Smokies players
- Iowa Cubs players
- Águilas Cibaeñas players
- Dominican Republic baseball biography stubs
- Baseball infielder stubs