Robel Estiwal García Rodriguez (born March 28, 1993) is an Italian-Dominican professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

who is a free agent. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

and

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

, and in the

KBO League The KBO League () is a professional baseball league in South Korea. The league comprises ten teams. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers are the most success ...

for the

LG Twins The LG Twins () are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Seoul, South Korea. They are a member of the KBO League. The Twins play their home games at Jamsil Baseball Stadium, which they share with their rivals, the Doosan Bears. ...

Career

Cleveland Indians

García signed with the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic on June 20, 2010, at 17 years old. He made his professional debut with the rookie-level

Arizona League Indians The Arizona Complex League Guardians are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Arizona. The team is ...

, hitting .164 over 43 appearances. García returned to the AZL Indians for the 2011 campaign, batting .284/.371/.544 with six home runs, 24 RBI, and seven stolen bases. García split the 2012 season between the Low-A

Mahoning Valley Scrappers The Mahoning Valley Scrappers are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Niles, Ohio, a city in the valley of the Mahoning River, and play their home games at Eastwood Field. From 1999 to 2020, they were ...

and Single-A

Lake County Captains The Lake County Captains are a Minor League Baseball team in Eastlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, that plays in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. The Captains joined the Class A Midwest League following ...

, hitting .217/.304/.301 with three home runs, 39 RBI, and five stolen bases across 119 combined appearances. García spent 2013 with both affiliates as well, playing in 67 games and slashing .207/.304/.356 with five home runs, 26 RBI, and seven stolen bases. After four seasons, he was released by the Indians on his 21st birthday on March 28, 2014. He had topped out in the Single–A

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

in 2012 and 2013.

Fortitudo Bologna

After his release, García moved to

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

to be with his Dominican-Italian wife and their children. He began playing independent baseball there in 2016 and joined Redskins Imola and then

Fortitudo Bologna Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna 103, commonly known as Fortitudo Bologna and currently known as Fortitudo Flats Service Bologna for sponsorship reasons, is a basketball club based in Bologna, Italy and currently plays in the second division. H ...

of the

Italian Baseball League The Italian Baseball League (IBL, ), officially known as the Serie A (), is the top-level baseball league in Italy. Founded in 1948, it is governed by the Italian Baseball & Softball Federation (FIBS), which has its headquarters in Rome. Many o ...

in 2017. In 2018, he played for UnipolSai Bologna and was a member of the

Italy national baseball team The Italy national baseball team represents Italy in international baseball competitions. The Italian national team was ranked WBSC World Rankings, 16th in the world as of 2022. Like the country's Italy national football team, association footba ...

that played in the 2018 Super 6 baseball tournament.

Chicago Cubs

After being spotted during an exhibition series for Italy in the

Arizona Instructional League The Arizona Instructional League (AIL), sometimes known informally as "instructs", is an American professional baseball league. Young major league prospects hone their skills in the AIL, while experienced players may go there to rehabilitate from ...

, García signed a minor league contract with the

on October 31, 2018. He started the 2019 season with the Double-A

Tennessee Smokies The Knoxville Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Knoxville, Tennessee. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The team was based in Kodak, Tennessee, a Knoxville suburb, fr ...

before being promoted to the Triple-A

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. T ...

after 22 games. On July 3, 2019, the Cubs selected García's contract and promoted him to the major leagues for the first time. He made his debut that night as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, A ...

for

Brandon Kintzler Brandon Lee Kintzler (born August 1, 1984) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, Washington Nationals, Chicago Cubs, Miami Marlins, and Ph ...

and struck out in his first at-bat. On July 4, García tripled off

Jordan Lyles Jordan Horton Lyles (born October 19, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a Free agency (Major League Baseball), free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Colorado Rockies, S ...

for his first MLB hit. He also singled and hit a solo home run in the game against the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

Cincinnati Reds

García was claimed off waivers by the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

on July 26, 2020. García did not play in a game for Cincinnati in 2020.

Houston Astros

On October 26, 2020, García was claimed off waivers by the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

. On February 1, 2021, García was designated for assignment following the acquisition of Jordan Yamamoto. On February 3, García was claimed off waivers by the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

. On February 25, García was designated for assignment by the Angels following the waiver claim of Jack Mayfield. On February 27, 2021, García was claimed off waivers by the

. García played in 46 games for the Astros in 2021, struggling to a .151 batting average with one home runs and eight RBI. On September 15, the Astros designated García for assignment. On September 18, he cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Triple-A

Sugar Land Skeeters The Sugar Land Space Cowboys are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros Major League Baseball club. They are located in Sugar Land, Texas, part of the G ...

Chicago Cubs (second stint)

On March 21, 2022, García signed a minor league contract with the

. García played in 41 games for the Triple-A

, hitting .295 with 12 home runs and 30 RBI. On June 4, the Cubs released García to allow him to pursue an opportunity overseas.

LG Twins

On June 5, 2022, García signed with the

of the

. In 39 games for the Twins, he slashed .206/.308/.353 with four home runs, 19 RBI, and four stolen bases. García was released by the team on October 7.

Leones de Yucatán

On May 12, 2023, García signed with the

Leones de Yucatán The Leones de Yucatán (English: Yucatán Lions) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League. The team plays its home games at Parque Kukulcán Alamo in Mérida, Yucatán. The Leones have won the Mexican League title five times in 1957 ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. In 13 games, he batted .192/.309/.255 with nine hits and five RBI. García was released on May 30.

Unipolsai Fortitudo Bologna

On July 25, 2023, García signed with the UnipolSai Bologna of the

. In 3 games for Bologna, he went 2-for-7 (.286) with 3 RBI and 1 walk. García became a free agent following the season.

Personal life

García is a citizen of the Dominican Republic and a naturalized Italian citizen. His wife, with whom he has at least three children, is Dominican-Italian.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:García, Robel 1993 births Living people Águilas Cibaeñas players Arizona League Indians players Chicago Cubs players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Fortitudo Baseball Bologna players Houston Astros players Iowa Cubs players Italian expatriate baseball players in Mexico Italian expatriate baseball players in the United States Italian people of Dominican Republic descent KBO League second basemen Lake County Captains players Leones de Yucatán players LG Twins players Mahoning Valley Scrappers players Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic 21st-century Dominican Republic sportsmen National baseball team players Naturalised citizens of Italy Naturalised sports competitors Baseball players from San Juan Province (Dominican Republic) Sportspeople of Dominican Republic descent Sugar Land Skeeters players Tennessee Smokies players Tigres del Licey players Toros del Este players Unipol Bologna players 2023 World Baseball Classic players 2023 European Baseball Championship players