Robel García
Robel Estiwal García Rodriguez is a Dominican professional baseball infielder for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball. He made his MLB debut with the Chicago Cubs in 2019.Career
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. He had topped out in the Class A Midwest League in 2012 and 2013.
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. 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. García would become a citizen of both the Dominican and Italy.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. He started the 2019 season with the Tennessee Smokies before being promoted to the Iowa Cubs after 22 games.
On July 3, 2019, the Cubs selected García's contract and promoted him to the major leagues. He made his debut that night as a pinch hitter for Brandon Kintzler and struck out in his first at-bat. 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.
