Cubs News: Robel Garcia optioned to Triple-A, add outfielder |
ST. LOUIS – The Chicago Cubs today added outfielder Nicholas Castellanos to the 25-man roster. Following last night’s game, the Cubs optioned infielder/outfielder Robel Garcia to Triple-A Iowa. Castellanos will wear uniform number six and is available for tonight’s series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
The Cubs yesterday acquired outfielder Castellanos and a cash consideration from the Detroit Tigers for minor league right-handed pitchers Alex Lange and Paul Richan. Castellanos, 27, is batting .273 (110-for-403) with 37 doubles, 11 homers, 37 RBI and a .790 OPS in 100 games with the Tigers this season, as he entered today tied for the major league lead in doubles. The right-handed batter is hitting .347 (25-for-72) with a .415 on-base percentage, .611 slugging percentage and a 1.026 OPS vs. left-handed pitching this season, the sixth-best batting average, seventh-best OPS and ninth-best on-base percentage in the American League this season vs. southpaws. The 6-foot-4 Castellanos is a career .274 hitter (862-for-3,148) with 208 doubles, 104 home runs, 424 RBI and a .783 OPS in 837 games covering all or part of seven big league seasons with the Tigers (2013-19). He is a career .300 hitter with an .868 OPS against left-handed pitching. Castellanos broke into the big leagues with the Tigers in 2013 and has played in at least 148 games in four of the last five seasons, including 157 games in each of the last two campaigns. He led the American League with 10 triples and ranked tied for ninth with a career-best 101 RBI in 2017 while he finished third in the A.L. with 185 hits and ninth in batting average last year when he hit .298 (185-for-620) with 46 doubles, 23 homers and a career-best .854 OPS. Castellanos was originally selected by the Tigers in the first round (44th overall) of the 2010 Draft. Garcia, 26, made his major league debut and batted .220 (13-for-59) with two doubles, two triples, four home runs and eight RBI in 19 games for Chicago. Between Double-A Tennessee and Iowa this season, he is hitting .285 (73-for-256) with 14 doubles, 21 homers and 58 RBI in 72 minor league games.
