According to the various reports, New York Yankees have signed Ronald Guzman, the first baseman, to a minor league contract. Guzman will be invited to the Yankees’ big league spring camp. It also means that his time with the Texas Rangers is also coming to an end officially.
A notable prospect during his time in the Rangers farm system, Guzman couldn’t translate the hitting prowess he displayed in the minors over to his 826 PA in the majors, as he batted only .227/.304/.414 and struck out 238 times. After three seasons of failing to truly break through as a regular in the Texas lineup, Guzman’s 2021 season was cut short after only seven games, as he suffered a torn meniscus while playing left field and had to undergo season-ending surgery.
Guzman signed with the Texas Rangers as an international free agent in 2011, along with Nomar Mazara. He made his professional debut in 2012 with the Arizona League Rangers of the Rookie-level Arizona League. He played for the Hickory Crawdads of the Class A South Atlantic League in 2013, 2014 and at the start of 2015. He finished 2015 with the High Desert Mavericks of the Class A-Advanced California League and played in the Arizona Fall League after the season.
In 2016, Guzman played for the Frisco RoughRiders of the Class AA Texas League (102 games) and for the Round Rock Express of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League (25 games). He posted a combined stat line of .274/.333/.449/.782 with 16 home runs and 67 RBI. In 2016 he was selected and appeared in the All-Star Futures Game.
The Rangers added him to their 40-man roster after the 2016 season. Guzman spent the 2017 season with the Round Rock Express, posting a stat line of .298/.372/.434/.806 with 12 home runs and 62 RBI. After the 2017 season, the Rangers organization named him their 2017 Tom Grieve Player of the Year (minor league). Guzman returned to the Round Rock Express to start the 2018 season, playing in 5 games with them before being recalled to the major leagues for the first time.
The Rangers promoted Guzman to the major leagues on April 13, 2018. He hit his first major league home run on April 14, 2018, to tie a game against the Houston Astros in the top of the 8th inning. On August 10, 2018, he became the first rookie to ever hit three home runs against the New York Yankees in the Bronx. It was his father’s first time seeing his son play in a professional game. Guzman finished his rookie season with a .235/.306/.416/.722 batting line with 16 home runs and 58 RBI in 123 games. Coming out of the 2019 Spring Training, Guzman was named the Rangers’ starting first baseman.
