Jeison Guzmán (born October 8, 1998) is a Dominican former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

. He is a

phantom ballplayer A phantom ballplayer is either a baseball player who is incorrectly listed in source materials as playing in a Major League Baseball (MLB) game, often the result of typographical or clerical errors, or a player who spent time on an MLB Major Leag ...

, having spent three days on the active roster of the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

in 2020 without making an appearance.

Career

Kansas City Royals

Guzmán signed with the

as an international free agent on July 2, 2015, for a $1.5 million

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

. he split the 2016 season between the

DSL Royals The Dominican Summer League Royals or DSL Royals are a minor league baseball team in the Dominican Summer League. The team plays in the Boca Chica Northwest division and is affiliated with the Kansas City Royals. The DSL Royals1 won the organizat ...

and

AZL Royals The Arizona Complex League Royals are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona. The team is compos ...

, hitting a combined .247/.314/.354/.668 with 1 home run and 19 RBI. He spent the 2017 season with the

Burlington Royals The Burlington Royals were a minor league baseball team in Burlington, North Carolina, United States. They were a Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League. The team was affiliated with the Cleveland Indians from 1986 to 2006 as the Burlington I ...

, hitting .207/.286/.249/.535 with 0 home run and 15 RBI. He split the 2018 season between Burlington and the

Lexington Legends The Lexington Legends are an American professional baseball team based in Lexington, Kentucky. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league" of Major League Baseball. The Legends have ...

, hitting a combined .254/.327/.356/.683 with 4 home runs and 29 RBI. He spent the 2019 season with Lexington, hitting .253/.296/.373/.669 with 7 home runs and 48 RBI. Guzmán was added to the Royals 40–man roster following the 2019 season. On August 11, 2020, he was promoted to the active roster, but was optioned down on August 14 without making a Major League appearance. He did not play a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. On December 2, he was nontendered by the Royals and became a free agent. On December 16, he signed a minor league contract. He split the 2021 season between the Double-A

Northwest Arkansas Naturals The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Arkansas. The team is a member of the Texas League, and serves as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The ...

and the High-A

Quad Cities River Bandits The Quad Cities River Bandits are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Their home games are played at Modern Woodmen Park (formerly John O'Donnell Stadium) in Davenport, Iowa, one ...

, slashing .255/.312/.401 with 6 home runs and 37 RBI in 66 games between the two teams. He elected free agency following the season on November 7.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On November 24, 2021, Guzmán signed a minor league contract with the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

. He played in eight games for the Double–A

Amarillo Sod Poodles The Amarillo Sod Poodles, nicknamed the Soddies, are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Amarillo, Texas, and play their home games at Hodgetown in downtown ...

, going 7–for–24 (.292) with one home run and one RBI. Guzmán was released by the Diamondbacks organization on June 5, 2022.

Kansas City Royals (second stint)

On August 10, 2022, Guzman signed a minor league contract to return to the

. He spent the remainder of the year with rookie–level

Arizona Complex League Royals The Arizona Complex League Royals are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona. The team is compos ...

and Double–A

. Guzmán remained in the Royals' system in 2023 with Northwest Arkansas and the ACL Royals, playing in 71 games and hitting .234/.344/.414 with 9 home runs, 43 RBI, and 4 stolen bases. He elected free agency following the season on November 6, 2023.

Staten Island FerryHawks

On March 20, 2024, Guzmán signed with the

Staten Island FerryHawks The Staten Island FerryHawks are an American minor-league professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Staten Island. They are a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner leag ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

. In 22 games for Staten Island, batted .241/.292/.446 with two home runs and 13 RBI. On May 22, Guzmán retired from professional baseball.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guzmán, Jeison 1998 births Living people Minor league baseball players Baseball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in baseball Olympic bronze medalists for the Dominican Republic Dominican Summer League Royals players Arizona League Royals players Burlington Royals players Lexington Legends players Leones del Escogido players Baseball shortstops Olympic baseball players for the Dominican Republic Amarillo Sod Poodles players Northwest Arkansas Naturals players Estrellas Orientales players Staten Island FerryHawks players