Carlos González Experiment Appears to Be Over in Chicago (Updated)

The Cubs tried to catch lightning in a bottle when they signed Carlos González following his release by the Indians, but the move never really panned out. After making a spectacular diving catch in right and putting together a few solid plate appearances, it became obvious that the once feared slugger simply didn’t have the bat speed to be an impact hitter.

No official announcement has been made, but all indications are that the Cubs have decided to move on. Joe Maddon said after the game that Cole Hamels would be placed on the IL with an oblique injury and MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweeted that the Cubs were expected to call up two pitchers — one of which is likely to be Alec Mills, with maybe Tony Barnette or Dillon Maples as the other — on Saturday. That means another personnel move, and all indications are that it’s CarGo.

https://twitter.com/MLBastian/status/1144804447434002432?s=20

Bastian added that the veteran outfielder was seen receiving handshakes and hugs from teammates in the clubhouse after the game, a pretty clear sign that he’s being let go. González hit just .175/.306/.300 over 49 plate appearances with the Cubs and looked like a shadow of his former self, which is too bad because going out with a bang would have made for a great story.

Vaya con Dios, CarGo.

Update #1: Per Jon Heyman, the Cubs have put CarGo on waivers and would like him to stay in the organization if he clears. It seems unlikely that a player of his pedigree would choose to toil in Triple-A, but you never know.

CarGo has been put on waivers by Cubs. if he clears, they’d like for him to go to minors for them. Would be his call.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) June 29, 2019