Robel Estiwal GarcÃÂa Rodriguez (born March 28, 1993) is an Italian-Dominican former professional baseball infielder. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros, and in the KBO League for the LG Twins.
GarcÃÂa signed with the Cleveland Indians 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, hitting .164 over 43 appearances. GarcÃÂa returned to the AZL Indians for the 2011 campaign, batting .284/.371/.544 with six home runs, 24 RBI, and seven stolen bases.
GarcÃÂa split the 2012 season between the Low-A Mahoning Valley Scrappers and Single-A Lake County Captains, hitting .217/.304/.301 with three home runs, 39 RBI, and five stolen bases across 119 combined appearances. GarcÃÂa 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 SingleâÂÂA Midwest League in 2012 and 2013.
After his release, GarcÃÂa moved to Verona 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 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.
After being spotted during an exhibition series for Italy in the Arizona Instructional League, GarcÃÂa signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs on October 31, 2018. He started the 2019 season with the Double-A Tennessee Smokies before being promoted to the Triple-A Iowa Cubs after 22 games.
On July 3, 2019, the Cubs selected GarcÃÂa's contract and promoted him to the major leagues for the first time. He made his debut that night as a pinch hitter for Brandon Kintzler and struck out in his first at-bat. On July 4, GarcÃÂa 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.
GarcÃÂa was claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Reds on July 26, 2020. GarcÃÂa did not play in a game for Cincinnati in 2020.
On October 26, 2020, GarcÃÂa was claimed off waivers by the New York Mets. On February 1, 2021, GarcÃÂa was designated for assignment following the acquisition of Jordan Yamamoto. On February 3, GarcÃÂa was claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Angels. On February 25, GarcÃÂa was designated for assignment by the Angels following the waiver claim of Jack Mayfield.
On February 27, 2021, GarcÃÂa was claimed off waivers by the Houston Astros. GarcÃÂa 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 GarcÃÂa for assignment. On September 18, he cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Triple-A Sugar Land Skeeters.
On March 21, 2022, GarcÃÂa signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs. GarcÃÂa played in 41 games for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs, hitting .295 with 12 home runs and 30 RBI. On June 4, the Cubs released GarcÃÂa to allow him to pursue an opportunity overseas.
On June 5, 2022, GarcÃÂa signed with the LG Twins of the KBO League. In 39 games for the Twins, he slashed .206/.308/.353 with four home runs, 19 RBI, and four stolen bases. GarcÃÂa was released by the team on October 7.
On May 12, 2023, GarcÃÂa signed with the Leones de Yucatán of the Mexican League. In 13 games, he batted .192/.309/.255 with nine hits and five RBI. GarcÃÂa was released on May 30.
On July 25, 2023, GarcÃÂa signed with the UnipolSai Bologna of the Italian Baseball League. In 3 games for Bologna, he went 2-for-7 (.286) with 3 RBI and 1 walk. GarcÃÂa became a free agent following the season.
GarcÃÂa 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.