Sunday saw ESPN’s New York Mets and Yankees reporter Jorge Castillo report on a Chicago Cubs call-up.
To the naked eye, it’s strange to see a reporter who’s never covered the team report on the news. You’d think maybe he had a source in the organization from a previous stop. You’d be correct — well, sort of. Castillo didn’t have a source inside the Cubs’ organization; it came from inside his family.
Castillo took to X (formerly Twitter) over the weekend to report that, according to his tía, the Cubs would promote Luis Vázquez to the Major Leagues. The 24-year-old Vázquez will get his first crack on Tuesday, and he could perhaps make his big league debut against the Atlanta Braves.
Vázquez would provide insurance to Chicago’s middle-infield depth as Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner have been battling injuries (but there’s been hope that they could return as soon as Tuesday). Vazquez was slashing .270/.369/.409 with three home runs at Triple-A Iowa at the time of his reported call-up.
According to MLB Pipeline and Baseball America, the Cubs’ former 14th-round pick in 2017 is ranked as the 13th-best and 14th-best prospect in Chicago’s farm system, respectively.
While Vázquez tries to find his footing at the Major League level and perhaps stay longer than for a cup of coffee, Castillo admits that this is probably the best news he’ll ever report in his career.
As athletes begin their reign on sports media, we’ve often seen players report on some of their former teammates or siblings. But rarely — if ever — have we seen a reporter directly report on a family member’s transaction move. This is a little different sourcing, as reporters aren’t usually reporting on people they’re blood-related to. And that’s what makes Sunday such a treat for Castillo — it’s not every day that you get to let the world know about one of the proudest moments in the lives of several family members.
His younger cousin, who hails from Orocovis, Puerto Rico, hopes to be the next family member to carve out a career in baseball. That journey starts at Wrigley Field on Tuesday.
[Jorge Castillo on X]