Cubs Claim Outfielder Julio Borbon Off Waivers From Texas

MILWAUKEE - The Chicago Cubs today claimed outfielder Julio Borbon off waivers from the Texas Rangers.  Infielder Alberto Gonzalez has been designated for assignment.

Borbon, 27, is a career .283 hitter (194-for-685) with 16 doubles, seven triples, seven home runs and 73 RBI in 216 games covering all or part of four seasons with the Rangers.  The left-handed batter and thrower has 40 stolen bases and 101 runs scored.  Borbon has seen most of his major league action in center field, where he has played 169 games, while also playing 17 big league games in left field.

The six-foot, 195-pound Borbon made his major league debut as a 23-year-old in 2009 and batted .312 (49-for-157) with 19 stolen bases and a .376 on-base percentage in 46 games with the Rangers.  He played in a career-high 137 games with Texas in 2010, batting .276 (121-for-438) with 60 runs scored, 11 doubles, four triples and 15 stolen bases, before splitting the 2011 campaign between Texas and Triple-A Round Rock.

Borbon spent the entire 2012 campaign with Round Rock, where he batted .304 (162-for-533) with 23 doubles, eight triples, 10 home runs, 78 runs scored and 20 stolen bases in 133 games.  In 2013, he batted .317 (19-for-60) in 32 games with the Rangers during spring training and was hitless in one at-bat during the regular season before being designated for assignment on April 9.

A native of Starkville, Miss., Borbon was originally selected by the Rangers with the 35th overall pick (supplemental round) of the 2007 June Draft.

Gonzalez batted .217 (5-for-23) in 11 games for the Cubs this season.