Ronald Enmanuel Guzmán Cepeda (born October 20, 1994) is a Dominican

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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

in the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

organization. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the Texas Rangers and

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

Professional career

Texas Rangers

Minor leagues

Guzmán signed with the Texas Rangers as an international free agent in 2011, along with

Nomar Mazara Nomar Shamir Mazara Jiminián (born April 26, 1995) is a Dominican professional baseball right fielder in the Baltimore Orioles organization. He has previously played in MLB for the Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, and the San ...

. He made his professional debut in 2012 with the

Arizona League Rangers The Arizona Complex League Rangers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Texas Rangers, 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 compose ...

of the Rookie-level

Arizona League The Arizona Complex League (ACL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in and around Phoenix, Arizona, since 1988. Prior to 2021, it was known as the Arizona League (AZL). Along with the Florida Complex League (FCL), it ...

. He played for the

Hickory Crawdads The Hickory Crawdads are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League (SAL) and the High-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Hickory, North Carolina, and play their home games at L. P. Frans Stadium, which opened i ...

of the Single–A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

in 2013, 2014 and at the start of 2015. He finished 2015 with the

High Desert Mavericks The High Desert Mavericks were an American Minor League Baseball team in Adelanto, California, that played their home games at Heritage Field at Stater Bros. Stadium. They played in the Class A-Advanced California League. The franchise had eigh ...

of the High–A California League and played in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fille ...

after the season. In 2016, Guzmán played for the

Frisco RoughRiders The Frisco RoughRiders (often shortened to 'Riders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Frisco, Texas, and are named for the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regime ...

of the Double–A

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

(102 games) and for the

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

of the Triple–A Pacific Coast League (25 games). He posted a combined stat line of .274/.333/.449/.782 with 16 home runs and 67 RBIs. In 2016 he was selected and appeared in the All-Star Futures Game. On November 18, 2016, the Rangers added Guzmán to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. Guzmán spent the 2017 season with the Triple–A

, posting a stat line of .298/.372/.434/.806 with 12 home runs and 62 RBIs. After the 2017 season, the Rangers organization named him their 2017 Tom Grieve Player of the Year (minor league). Guzmán returned to the

to start the 2018 season, playing in 5 games with them before being recalled to the major leagues for the first time.

Major leagues

The Rangers promoted Guzmán 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 eighth 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. Guzmán finished his rookie season with a .235/.306/.416/.722 batting line with 16 home runs and 58 RBIs in 123 games. Coming out of spring training in 2019, Guzmán was named the Rangers' starting first baseman. However, he was placed on the 10-day injured list on April 7, 2019, with a right hamstring strain. He was reactivated off the IL on May 9, starting at first base that night. However, after posting a .193/.282/.396/.678 battling line during the first four months of the season, he was optioned to Triple-A Nashville on July 23. After slashing an impressive .316/.409/.518/.927 batting line at Nashville, he was called up on September 1 to become the Rangers' everyday first baseman. Guzmán would finish the 2019 season batting .219/.308/.414/.723 with 10 home runs and 36 RBIs in 87 games. In 2020 for the Rangers, Guzmán appeared in 26 games, hitting .244/.314/.436 with four home runs and nine RBIs across 78 at-bats. After the 2020 season, he played for

Gigantes del Cibao The Gigantes del Cibao (English: Cibao giants) are a baseball team that plays in the Dominican Winter League. The team was founded in 1996 as ''Gigantes del Noroeste ''then with a change of ownership the name was changed several times, being cal ...

of the

Dominican Professional Baseball League Dominican may refer to: * Someone or something from or related to the Dominican Republic ( , stress on the "mi"), on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles, in the Caribbean ** People of the Dominican Republic ** Demographics of the Domi ...

(LIDOM). He has also played for Dominican Republic in the

2021 Caribbean Series The 2021 Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe) was the 63rd edition of the international competition featuring the champions of the Colombian Professional Baseball League, Dominican Professional Baseball League, Mexican Pacific League, Panamanian ...

. On April 12, 2021, his first career start in left field and the outfield, Guzmán tore the meniscus in his right knee and was placed on the 10-day injured list the next day. He had been batting .063/.118/.250 in 17 plate appearances at the time of his injury. On April 23, Guzmán underwent season-ending right knee surgery. On April 26, he was placed on the 60-day injured list. Guzmán was outrighted off of the 40-man roster on November 5, and elected free agency the following day.

New York Yankees

On March 13, 2022, Guzmán signed a minor league contract with the

. He played for the

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in the ...

and began the conversion into a

. The Yankees promoted Guzmán to the major leagues on September 7. On September 10, Guzmán was designated for assignment after going 0-for-6 with 5 strikeouts in limited action. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple–A Scranton on September 12. On October 24, Guzmán elected free agency.

San Francisco Giants

On January 16, 2023, Guzmán signed a minor league contract with the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

. On February 6, Guzmán was invited to Spring Training and announced as both a pitcher and infielder. On March 14, it was announced that Guzmán would miss 6-8 weeks after suffering a pronator strain in his left forearm. On August 20, Guzmán began a rehab assignment with the rookie–level

Arizona Complex League Giants The Arizona Complex League Giants are a professional baseball team competing as a Rookie-level affiliate of the San Francisco Giants in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Scottsdale Stadium in Scot ...

. After three games, he was released by the Giants organization on August 26.

Baltimore Orioles

On January 25, 2024, Guzmán signed a minor league contract with the

Personal life

In 2014, Guzman was home in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

driving his vehicle when he collided with a motorcycle. The crash resulted in the death of the driver of the motorcycle. Guzman did not face any charges from the incident, as the police determined that the motorcycle driver had failed to stop at an intersection. Guzman has one daughter, named Charlotte.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guzman, Ronald 1994 births Living people Arizona Complex League Giants players Arizona League Rangers players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Frisco RoughRiders players Gigantes del Cibao players Hickory Crawdads players High Desert Mavericks players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Nashville Sounds players New York Yankees players People from La Vega Province Round Rock Express players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Surprise Saguaros players Texas Rangers players Toros del Este players