A couple of weeks ago, it showed up in the transaction logs that the Giants had signed first baseman Ronald Guzmán to a minor league deal. The club today announced to reporters, including Grant Brisbee of The Athletic, a batch of players that would be in camp as non-roster invitees. Among them was Guzmán, though he was listed as both a pitcher and an infielder. Video of Guzmán pitching recently appeared on social media, with the Instagram account Dominican Baseball Solutions sharing some footage back in December.
The fact that the Giants are announcing Guzmán as a pitcher suggests that they are at least somewhat willing to give him a real shot to prove himself in that capacity. He doesn’t yet have any professional experience as a pitcher, though the Instagram post linked above says that he was hitting 96 mph on his fastball, as well as throwing a slider at 82 mph and a changeup at 84.
Guzmán is now 28 years old, so making a transition to pitching will be difficult but the switch is not totally unheard of. Perhaps the best recent example is Anthony Gose, who spent many years as an outfielder but struggled at the plate and converted to pitching in 2017 at the age of 26. He eventually made his way back to the big leagues with Cleveland in 2021 and tossed 27 2/3 MLB innings over the past couple of years. Unfortunately, he required Tommy John surgery late last year and will likely miss the entire 2023 season.
It doesn’t seem like Guzmán is done with the other part of his game, however, since he was also announced as an infielder. He got into just three MLB games with the Yankees last year but hit .255/.344/.478 across 105 Triple-A contests for a wRC+ of 116. The first base position in San Francisco has some uncertainty with Brandon Belt joining the Blue Jays. It seems like LaMonte Wade Jr. will come in from the outfield and see significant time at the cold corner with right-hander J.D. Davis perhaps also involved in a platoon capacity. Guzmán can be in Triple-A to provide some veteran depth while also trying to jumpstart his late-career move to the mound.
Players attempting to play on both sides of the ball have been popping up a few places lately, but with little success outside of Shohei Ohtani. The Rays allowed Brendan McKay to develop as a two-way player for a while though he’s been severely hamstrung by injuries in recent years. Michael Lorenzen dabbled with being a two-way player but has found far more success as a pitcher, while Christian Bethancourt and Matt Davidson were in the opposite camp. White Sox prospect Oscar Colás did some pitching in Cuba but has given that up to be a full-time hitter in recent years. Alex Verdugo has expressed an interest in becoming a two-way player in the future but has been kept as outfielder in his career thus far.
