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Texas Rangers: Ronald Guzman Solidifying Role in the Lineup

By Kenneth Nash

NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 10: Ronald Guzman #67 of the Texas Rangers celebrates at home base after hitting a homerun in the fourth inning against the New York Yankees during their game at Yankee Stadium on August 10, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 10: Ronald Guzman #67 of the Texas Rangers celebrates at home base after hitting a homerun in the fourth inning against the New York Yankees during their game at Yankee Stadium on August 10, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images) /
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With roster decisions coming soon, Ronald Guzman is lighting it up and making a case to hold is spot with the Major League roster.

With Delino DeShields and Nomar Mazara both returning from the Disabled List soon, the Texas Rangers are facing roster decisions as they aim to keep the active roster at 25 players. Assuming both Nomar and Delino are with the big league club, two players will have to be optioned to the minors. As we wrote yesterday, Drew Robinson is likely one of the two going down but there are a few options for the remaining spot.

What’s He Got Going For Him?

One of those choices is optioning Ronald Guzman back to Triple-A for the remainder of the minor league season and letting Joey Gallo and Jurickson Profar split time at first. However in the month of August, Guzman is doing everything he can to assure his spot is protected. This month, Guzman is hitting .368 with a staggering 1.323 OPS. This includes a couple of 3-hit games one of which was his 3-homer night against the Yankees on the 10th. Compare these numbers with Willie Calhoun, the player he’s likely competing against. Calhoun is hitting well but at just .290, he’s a few ticks behind Guzman’s outrageous pace. The biggest gap with in OPS where Calhoun sports just a .794 a difference of over 500 points.

On top of his offensive numbers, Guzman also flashes his best tool which is his elite glove at first base. By far the best defensive option at first, Guzman increases his value immensely. The Texas Rangers clearly view Guzman as their first baseman of the future meaning they won’t be easily inclined to send him back to the minors potentially stalling his development.

Next. Who Loses Out When Nomar Mazara Returns?. dark

What’s Going Against Him?

The only thing really working against Guzman is that I find it unlikely Texas will want to option Willie Calhoun. After the issues that arose after he started the season in Triple-A, I would imagine Texas wouldn’t want a repeat of this issue in mid-August. If they can offload Shin-Soo Choo somehow this month it would solve their problems but assuming they can’t Texas will have a tough decision to make.

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