Venezuelan baseball player (born 1981)
Baseball player
Angel Moises Guzman
(born December 14, 1981) is a
Venezuelan
former professional baseball
pitcher
. Listed at 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m), 195 pounds (88 kg), Guzman bats and throws
right-handed
. He made his major league debut on April 26, 2006.
Career
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Chicago Cubs
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Guzman was originally signed by the
Kansas City Royals
as an amateur free agent on March 4, 1999, but his signing was voided and he signed with the
Chicago Cubs
on November 12, 1999. In 2000, he went 1?1 with a 1.93
ERA
for the
La Pradera
club of the
Venezuelan Summer League
. In 2001, he pitched for the
Boise Hawks
, going 9?1 with a 2.23 ERA, 19
walks
and 63
strikeouts
in 77 innings pitched. He was second in the
Northwest League
in ERA, trailing
Jesse Foppert
, and he led the league in
wins
. He made the league All-Star team. He was rated the #4 prospect in the league according to
Baseball America
.
In 2002, Guzman went 5?2 with a 1.89 ERA for the
Lansing Lugnuts
and 6?2, 2.39 with the
Daytona Cubs
. He was the #13 prospect in the
Midwest League
and #11 in the
Florida State League
according to
Baseball America
. In 2003, he went 3?3 with a 2.81 ERA for the
West Tenn Diamond Jaxx
, striking out 87 and walking 26 in 90 innings of work. He was rated the ninth-best prospect in the
Southern League
and picked to perform in the
All-Star Futures Game
, but was unable to do so when he injured his right shoulder, cutting his year short. In 2004, he had a 5.60 ERA and 0?3 record for West Tenn and 3?1, 4.20 for Daytona in a total of 11 starts. In 2005, he pitched in four games for the
AZL Cubs
(with 17 strikeouts and one walk in 12 innings pitched) and two for the
Peoria Chiefs
.
Guzman was promoted to the
Triple-A
Iowa Cubs
in 2006. He was 4?4 with a 4.04 ERA. He also made 15 appearances in the majors in 2006 (10 of them starts) for the Cubs, going 0?6 with a 7.39 ERA, but with more than a strikeout per inning.
Guzman started the 2007 season with the Cubs in the
bullpen
, but was sent down to the minors to gain more innings of work due to a crowded staff. He gained an opportunity when the Cubs fifth starter
Wade Miller
was injured on April 22. Since the Cubs had several off-dates in their schedule, Guzman had the opportunity for a few additional starts, but did not impress the Cubs manager
Lou Piniella
by pitching poorly at the Triple-A level.
Guzman took advantage of the opportunity by giving up only one
run
in five innings of work against the
Washington Nationals
.
[1]
While he did not gain the win in the Cubs 4?3 victory, it did impress Piniella.
Piniella stuck with Guzman for three starts before targeting him as a future setup man or
closer
.
Guzman was replaced by
Sean Marshall
as the fifth starter on May 22.
[2]
On the 18th of April 2009, Guzman earned his first career win against the
St. Louis Cardinals
in an 11-inning Cubs victory.
During early spring training in 2010, Guzman suffered significant ligament tears in the front bottom of his right (throwing) shoulder. The injury was thought to be career-threatening. On March 18, after consulting with
Dr. James Andrews
, Guzman had surgery on his shoulder, and missed the entire season.
[3]
After the season, the Cubs outrighted Guzman from the 40 man roster and signed him to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.
[4]
He returned in 2011 to make 17 starts for the A class
Daytona Cubs
.
Los Angeles Dodgers
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He became a free agent after the season and signed a minor league contract with the
Los Angeles Dodgers
on December 13, 2011. He also received an invitation to spring training. Guzman was suspended by MLB for the first 50 games of the 2012 season due to his second violation of Minor league drug prevention program.
[5]
He was activated off the suspended list on June 12 and assigned to the AAA
Albuquerque Isotopes
. He pitched in 23 games for the Isotopes and was 2?1 with a 4.43 ERA in 22.1 innings.
He was named pitching coach of Venezuelan Cubs of the Chicago Cubs Venezuelan rookie team.
Personal life
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His mother lives in the Dominican Republic with a sister. An older brother and four other sisters are still in Caracas, Venezuela.
[6]
On 11 January 2010, one of his brother, Daniel, was shot dead in Caracas. He was 28 years old.
[7]
See also
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References
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External links
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