Denzer

Guzman

Guzman put the Angels on the board with an RBI groundout in the first inning. He then extended the Los Angeles lead with a three-run blast off Brady Basso in the third. The 22-year-old third baseman has flashed some power potential, hitting eight homers while slashing .226/.272/.350 across 286 plate appearances.

Guzman didn’t exactly crush the ball; the four hits had xBAs of .530, .530, .150 and .060 and just one was hard hit. Still, he was probably due for some good luck after hitting .169 with a 27/3 K/BB ratio in 81 plate appearances over his previous 25 games. The 22-year-old Guzman is at .230/.271/.351 overall. He probably shouldn’t be in the Angels’ plans for the beginning of 2027, unless maybe Zach Neto gets traded. Guzman’s offense would be easier to tolerate at short than at third. He does have the bat speed to take a step forward, though.

Guzman started 15 of the Angels’ 17 games from Aug. 12-30, but he’s taking a backseat to Oswald Peraza now, even though Peraza is batting .155 in 67 plate appearances int he second half and last drove in a run on July 19. The Angels might be trying to figure out whether Peraza should be in their plans for 2027. Guzman, who is still just 22 and has a couple of option years left after this one, isn’t under that kind of pressure.

It looks to be just a regular day of rest for the 22-year-old infielder. Christian Moore will start in his place at second base and will bat eighth for the Halos against Rangers’ right-hander Cal Quantrill.

The hit that knocked in a run was a tapper to the third base side of the mound. Jordan Montgomery was able to handle it, but he then double clutched on the throw and was too late to get Guzman at first. It’s the first time in 63 career games that Guzman has come up with three hits. He’s batting .241/.289/.358 in 175 plate appearances this season.

There aren’t any rumblings of the dynamic shortstop dealing with any sort of injury, so it’s just a night of rest for Neto. Denzer Guzman will start in his place at shortstop and will bat sixth against Rangers’ star right-hander Jacob deGrom.

Guzman hit a crucial game-tying, three-run home run off of Hogan Harris in the eighth inning to tie the game at seven. It was his third home run of the season, and now gives him 11 RBIs to go along with a .271/.327/.500 slash line. The 22-year-old came into the game with a solid 42 percent hard-hit rate and has posted an elite 74.2 mph bat speed so far this season. He’s been extraordinarily pull-heavy and his 14.5 percent swinging strike rate and 83 percent zone contact rate are both below average, so this may not last.

Guzman’s steal was his first in 17 games as a major leaguer. He’s 4-for-18 in four games since being called up Monday with Yoán Moncada, Vaughn Grissom and Adam Frazier on the IL. He’ll probably wind up back in Triple-A at some point, but he’ll continue to start most of the time until the Angels get healthier.

Suzuki declined to elaborate on the specific procedure or how long Moncada will be sidelined. The 31-year-old was transferred to the 60-day injured list earlier this week in a procedural move. It’ll be Denzer Guzman handling the hot corner for the Angels until further notice.

Guzman earns another opportunity with the Angels as their primary third baseman after slashing a robust .336/.403/.571 with 12 homers and nine steals across 268 plate appearances over 58 games in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League this season. The 22-year-old infielder batted .190 (8-for-42) with two homers during a 13-game cameo with Los Angeles late last season. He’s an interesting talent, but he’ll need to show something at the highest level to earn an everyday role and sustained fantasy value.