Ángel Moisés Guzmán (born December 14, 1981) is a

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

n former professional baseball

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. Listed at , 195 pounds (88 kg), Guzmán bats and throws

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...

. He made his major league debut on April 26, 2006.

Career

Chicago Cubs

Guzmán was originally signed by 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) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

as an amateur free agent on March 4, 1999, but his signing was voided and he signed with the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

on November 12, 1999. In 2000, he went 1–1 with a 1.93

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

for the La Pradera club of the

Venezuelan Summer League The Venezuelan Summer League (VSL) was a professional baseball league that operated in Venezuela from 1997 to 2015, primarily in the state of Carabobo. Teams in the league served as academies for Major League Baseball (MLB) organizations, and wer ...

. In 2001, he pitched for the

Boise Hawks The Boise Hawks are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. Home games are played at Memorial Stadium in unincorporated Ada County, Idaho, near ...

, going 9–1 with a 2.23 ERA, 19 walks and 63

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s in 77 innings pitched. He was second in the

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseba ...

in ERA, trailing

Jesse Foppert Jesse William Foppert (; born July 10, 1980) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. High school and collegiate career Foppert attended San Rafael High School where he was a two-time all-MCAL player as a shortstop. He then went to ...

, 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 ''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...

''. In 2002, Guzmán went 5–2 with a 1.89 ERA for the

Lansing Lugnuts The Lansing Lugnuts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Athletics (baseball), Athletics. They are located in Lansing, Michigan, and play their home games at Jackson Field (Lansing), Jackson Fie ...

and 6–2, 2.39 with the

Daytona Cubs Daytona may refer to: Locations * Daytona Beach, Florida * Daytona Beach Shores, Florida * South Daytona, Florida * The Daytona Beach metropolitan area * Halifax area, also known as Daytona, the region around Daytona Beach Motor racing * Day ...

. He was the #13 prospect in the

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

and #11 in the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

according to ''Baseball America''. In 2003, he went 3–3 with a 2.81 ERA for the

West Tenn Diamond Jaxx The Jackson Generals were a professional baseball team located in Jackson, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2020, they were a part of Minor League Baseball's Southern League (SL) as the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs (1998–2006), Seattle Marin ...

, 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 The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League- ...

, 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 The Arizona Complex League Cubs are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays it home games at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona. The team is composed mainly of player ...

(with 17 strikeouts and one walk in 12 innings pitched) and two for the

Peoria Chiefs The Peoria Chiefs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The team was established in 1983 as the Peoria Suns. They are located in Peoria, Illinois, and are named for the Pe ...

. Guzmán was promoted to the Triple-A

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. T ...

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. Angel Guzman 2007

Guzmán started the 2007 season with the Cubs in the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

, 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, Guzmán had the opportunity for a few additional starts, but did not impress the Cubs manager

Lou Piniella Louis Victor Piniella ( usually ; born August 28, 1943) is a former professional baseball player and manager. An outfielder, he played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals a ...

by pitching poorly at the Triple-A level. Guzmán took advantage of the opportunity by giving up only one

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

in five innings of work against the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

. While he did not gain the win in the Cubs 4–3 victory, it did impress Piniella. Piniella stuck with Guzmán for three starts before targeting him as a future setup man or closer. Guzmán was replaced by Sean Marshall as the fifth starter on May 22. On the 18th of April 2009, Guzmán earned his first career win against the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

in an 11-inning Cubs victory. During early spring training in 2010, Guzmán 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. After the season, the Cubs outrighted Guzmán from the 40 man roster and signed him to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. He returned in 2011 to make 17 starts for the A class

Los Angeles Dodgers

He became a free agent after the season and signed a minor league contract with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

on December 13, 2011. He also received an invitation to spring training. Guzmán was suspended by MLB for the first 50 games of the 2012 season due to his second violation of Minor league drug prevention program. He was activated off the suspended list on June 12 and assigned to the AAA

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an ...

. 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

His mother lives in the Dominican Republic with a sister. An older brother and four other sisters are still in Caracas, Venezuela.
On 11 January 2010, one of his brother, Daniel, was shot dead in Caracas. He was 28 years old.

References

External links