A Player That Should Get A Chance

It's been too long since I've geeked out on a little move. One finally caught my eye today. The Giants designated IF Jesus Guzman for assignment, because they needed to make room for recently re-signed C Bengie Molina.

I first noticed Guzman a couple years ago when he had a break-out campaign for High Desert in the Mariners organization. I wasn't in love with him (especially with how hitter-friendly High Desert is), but I was intrigued to see what he did in AA. It seemed like he had a chance to become a utility infielder with enough of a glove and bat to hold down a position for a week or two if the starter got hurt.

However, the Mariners never gave Guzman a chance. They cut him loose as a minor league free agent after his breakout season. You gotta love the Bill Bavasi era.

The Athletics picked up Guzman in 2008, and in AA he batted .364 with 14 home runs in a little over half a season's worth of action. That wasn't enough for Oakland to keep him though, and San Francisco picked him up. He batted .321 with 16 home runs in a full season in AAA.

Now, Jesus Guzman is out of work again. He is 25 years old, and has batted over .300 with decent power three years in a row, despite climbing a level each year, and changing organizations each year.

My opinion of Guzman hasn't changed too much since he broke out in High Desert. He still looks to me like a pretty well-rounded backup, though I will admit that I don't know much about his defensive ability. However, honestly, if you were Giants GM Brian Sabean, would you have ditched Guzman over 1B Brett Pill or 3B Ryan Rohlinger, both of whom are on San Francisco's 40-man roster?

It's not like the next Albert Pujols keeps getting cut loose, but Jesus Guzman continues to slip through the cracks. He is better than at least a handful of players with roster spots right now. I don't think he makes a ton of sense for the Mariners, but I hope someone gives him a chance.