According to Baseball America, the Cubs signed 1B Jesus Guzman to a minor league contract. Matt Eddy did not say if Guzman received a non-roster invite to Spring Training but a NRI should be included in his contract.
Jesus Guzman spent last season in Japan playing for the Hiroshima Carp. Guzman played for Houston in 2014 and has ties to Jed Hoyer from their days together in San Diego. Hoyer signed Guzman in November 2010 after the Giants granted him free agency earlier that month.
Guzman batted .230/.336/.420 with eight doubles, a triple and three home runs for a .756 OPS in 34 games for Hiroshima. Guzman hits and throws from the right side and is 31 years old.
Jesus Guzman put up his best numbers in the majors in 2011 while playing for Jed Hoyer in San Diego. Guzman hit .312/.369/.478 in 76 games with 22 doubles, two triples and five home runs for a .847 OPS. During his three seasons with the Padres, Guzman had a .259/.326/.422 line with a .748 OPS.
In 2014 with the Astros, Guzman played in 69 games and batted just .188/.272/.248 with four doubles and two home runs.
Over five seasons in the big leagues, Guzman owns a .247/.316/.390 slash line with 61 doubles, four triples and 25 home runs. And against left-handed pitching, Guzman has hit .263/.337/.410 with a .746 OPS in his Major League career.
Jesus Guzman is considered a first baseman, with 165 games in the big leagues at first base. Guzman can also play second and third base and has spent a lot of time in the outfield, mainly left field (101 games) but he has lined up for 13 games in right field in the majors.
• Jesus Guzman’s Page on Baseball-Reference
Minor League Contracts
The following players have signed minor league contracts with the Cubs this off-season. Additional minor league signings should be reported in the coming days.
Pitchers
- Brandon Gomes, RHP
- Stephen Fife, RHP
- Jean Machi, RHP
- Drew Rucinski, RHP
- Luis Parra, LHP
- Scott Barnes, LHP
- Luis Cruz, LHP
- Miguel Mejia, RHP
- Jeffry Antigua, LHP
- Fernando Cruz, RHP
- Jack Leathersich, LHP
Catchers
- None
Infielders
- Jesus Guzman
Outfielders
- Kelly Dugan
- Juan Perez
Drew Rucinski, Luis Parra, Jean Machi, Brandon Gomes, Scott Barnes, Stephen Fife, Jesus Guzman and Kelly Dugan should receive non-roster invites to Spring Training. The full list of players that will be non-roster invitees to big league camp should be released late-January, first week of February.
Follow Chicago Cubs Online on Twitter: @TheCCO and @TheCCO_Minors