Report: Cubs Promoting Veteran OF Carlos González to Chicago Monday

With Ben Zobrist not expected to return and Ian Happ working on his swing in Iowa, the Cubs snapped up former All-Star Carlos González on a minor-league deal last week shortly after he was released by the Indians. The 33-year-old outfielder slashed .210/.282/.276 with two homers in 117 plate appearances and is clearly not a five-tool player any longer, but the low-risk move makes sense.

There’s merit to the idea of CarGo being a platoon bat since he has hit righties to the tune of .298/.364/.535 over the course of his career. And even though his numbers this season are well below that, his .240/.293/.333 slash against righties — including 18 of his 22 hits and both homers — is much higher than his overall numbers.

He went 2-for-8 with a homer in two games for Triple-A Iowa, which may have been all the proof the Cubs needed. According to a report from Daniel Álvarez Montes of El Extrabase, the potential for González to be better than Jim Adduci or another bench bat is enough for him to get the call to Chicago.

OF Carlos González will join the #Cubs Big League club today, source say.

— Daniel Álvarez-Montes (@DanielAlvarezEE) June 3, 2019

We should find out soon enough how accurate this is and whether Gonzalez will be in the lineup as the Cubs face the Angels in a makeup game Monday afternoon. If nothing else, the move can’t make the offense any worse than it’s been over the past few games. Famous last words.