The Angels announced this afternoon that they’ve selected the contract of infielder Denzer Guzman from Triple-A. Utility infielder Scott Kingery was designated for assignment to make room for Guzman on the 40-man and active rosters. In addition, Anaheim announced that they’ve optioned outfielder Matthew Lugo to Triple-A and recalled infielder Christian Moore.
Guzman, 21, was signed by the Angels as an amateur out of the Dominican Republic and made his professional debut during the 2021 season. After hitting his way out of rookie ball in late 2022, Guzman began to climb the minor league ladder but generally didn’t show much promise with the bat. That was, at least, until this year, when Guzman enjoyed a breakout at the Double- and Triple-A levels. He’s slashed .247/.343/.426 in 129 games between those two levels this year, with 30 doubles, 17 homers, and a 14-17 record on the bases. Some of that breakout seems to have been fueled by the inflated offensive environment found in the Pacific Coast League, but given Guzman’s youth it’s still impressive that he’s been able to hold his own offensively in the upper minors.
The overwhelming majority of Guzman’s work over the years has come at shortstop, though he does have a small amount of experience at third base as well. In the short term, Guzman figures to fill in for Zach Neto at short while the latter player nurses a day-to-day injury. Looking into the future, however, Neto’s presence leaves a long-term roadblock to Guzman getting much time at the position in the majors. Perhaps other spots around the infield could become available as soon as next year with Luis Rengifo and Yoan Moncada ticketed for free agency this winter, and if that comes to pass then a strong first impression for Guzman could get him into the conversation for a larger role in the majors in 2026.
To make room for Guzman on the roster, the Angels are cutting ties with Kingery. The 31-year-old journeyman got his first MLB work since 2022 in with Anaheim this year after signing an MLB deal, though he only ended up appearing in 19 games as he slashed a brutal .148/.207/.185 with a 37.9% strikeout rate in 29 trips to the plate. A former top prospect who signed an ill-fated extension with the Phillies to begin his career, Kingery seemed to take a step forward and become an average regular in 2019 but hit just .144/.205/.250 across 52 MLB games from 2020 to 2022. Assuming he goes unclaimed on waivers, Kingery will have the option either elect free agency or stick with the Angels organization in the minors for the remainder of the year.
As for Moore, the rookie returns to the majors without having even used a minor league option, since his assignment lasted less than 20 days. The eighth overall pick of last year’s draft debuted back in June and hit .195/.287/.336 in 39 games for the Angels this year between trips to the injured list and Triple-A. As for Lugo, the 24-year-old made his MLB debut this year but has hit just .232/.243/.464 in 70 appearances, with his excellent slugging numbers boosted by six extra-base hits in his first eight games as a big leaguer.
Let it end.
15 Ks in 40 ABs since Moore was demoted. I don’t think he’s ready.
Guzman isn’t quite ready, but he’s probably the 3B of the future.
Get him some reps now, but he’ll need more time in AAA next year, as will Moore.
But they are likely the infielders we’ll be seeing for the long term.
Rada is next, and that kinda fills out the everyday lineup.
I really hope he’s the shortstop of the future. I’ll change my tune when the best data available gets Neto in the top half of defensive shortstops, and not the 25th out of 31 (500 innings}
Guzman has the glove, doesn’t have the bat. Neto has the at, not the glove.
And it’s weird – according to the metrics, to his right, Neto is good, but to his left, he’s awful.
Which is kind of the opposite of what one would expect due to his glove hand being to his left..
His cross over to his left is awful, it’s a shuffle. I can see that with my eyes. I’ve even seen him break the wrong way on ground balls.
I bet the metrics have him coming in well though.
Defensively, he’s part of this team’s problem, and it’s a huge problem.
I disagree with it all. IMO, Neto is a defensive stud. His instincts are off the charts. Defensive metrics are so out of whack, they are better than nothing and are definitely needed, but they do over-hype or under-hype many players.
I wish they were accurate but there is way to many variables. Anyways Neto is a defensive stud.
Sure you can disagree, but the best data that a fan can access agrees with me.
DRS is formulaic, and since the Angels have a ton of pitchers that don’t miss bats, that formula is misleading.
Statcast, which measures almost everything that DRS does not, is as good as fans can get
27 – I’m not a fan of metric minutia, as Halo11 will attest, so I agree with you. Neto has made some great plays. He’s young and scrappy and teachable. The only HUGE problem this team has and has had for the past decade is pitching, top to bottom. And depth being a distant second. But Moreno uses the same formula every off season and sends his GM out to give the same pre-season speech every year. The biggest problem is fans buy it.
@prov356. It’s not even metric minutia. It’s the range police. Most of it is because neto is probably the least of the angels problems. It’s the band-aid pitching and the waiver wire infield like yousaid. I know halo11fan blames perry. I blame arte, dont think it’s a coincidence that they do the same gameplan doesn’t matter what gm is in place. Just look at dipoto focusing on pitching in Seattle, but he didn’t in Anaheim.
I am sure most everyone knows how I feel with regards to Halo11fan’s take on Neto. He is quite literally the only one who is calling for Neto to be moved.
Prov, It’s not metric minutia, it’s physics.
And I know for a fact, 100% certainty, that Dipoto left because of Arte.
With a brilliant GM. the Angels can turn this around. Minasian is a bad GM. The two are a horrible combination.
And that opinion is based on data and personal observation.
When the data changes, my position will change. Some people couldn’t care less what the data says, that’s not me.
Halo – You and I have debated the owner vs GM thing a ton. Dipoto’s success in Seattle proves that it’s Moreno, not his GMs that are the problem. Also, Minasian’s past successes in Atlanta show he’s not the issue either. Moreno has always pulled the strings on which players his GM du jour acquires. For the last 11 years of stink, Moreno is the only common denominator.
It is strong evidence he’s a problem.
There is no evidence Minasian is competent. No,
None.
The Braves’ success is the evidence that Minasian is competent. He was charged with building their pitching staff and it led them to a WS victory. His tenure with the Angels is not a fair assessment because he’s worked under the micro-management of Moreno. Every single GM under Moreno has had the same results. The evidence is clear.
No it’s not.
After five years of the highest draft picks in Angel history the team has gotten worse and the farm system has gotten worse.
How incompetent does this team have to be before ypu stop giving Minasian pass?
@halo11fan. Until arte hires Tony reagins son.
We both agree the team is incompetent. For some reason though, in spite of all evidence to the contrary, you seem to think Minasian makes player acquisition decisions in a vacuum and is to blame for this team’s roster. The roster has been bad (in exactly the same ways) through many GMs long before Minasian was hired. By all accounts from people who know, Moreno is involved in every decision regarding player acquisition.
To follow your argument, every GM we have had under Moreno has to have had the same failed philosophy on how to construct a roster. That argument does not align with the evidence. It specifically contradicts the evidence and common sense.
@prov356. Eppler signed wheeler and arte told him to rip it up and sign rendon. It’s like he forgot about the past or doesn’t know it, because statcast wasn’t around
Was I the only one who thought Kingery was gonna be a stud? I have to admit how wrong I was on that one. He can barely stick as a utility guy.
The Phillies did too.
He really had the look of an all-star 2nd baseman in the making, but Gabe Kapler had it in his mind to make him a super utility guy. Kingery had some success early on, but then he modified his swing to more of an uppercut. Then he got COVID, and nothing good happened after that.
No, he was a consensus top 50 prospect going into 2018, and the Phillies liked him enough to give him an extension in his rookie year.
Thing about former top prospects is that teams will keep giving them chances in hopes that they’ll be the one to unlock that potential, or at least a glimmer of it.
Two franchises with one being an extended cup of coffee is a journeyman?