Cristian Guzman Bounced Back From The Worst Season In Twins History To Become An All-Star Shortstop

The Minnesota Twins have had many successful sell-offs in franchise history. A recent example is when they got Joe Ryan from the Tampa Bay Rays for half a season of a declining Nelson Cruz. The best example is when they sent A.J. Pierzynski away in his contract year to the San Francisco Giants for Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano, and Boof Bonser.

Minnesota also got a pretty good haul for superstar second baseman Chuck Knoblauch in 1998. This was the guy they wanted to build the franchise around after the retirements of Kirby Puckett and Kent Hrbek, and for good reason. Knoblauch was becoming a regular at the Midsummer Classic. His trophy case featured the 1991 AL Rookie of the Year, a few Silver Sluggers, a Gold Glove, and a World Series ring. He was locked up long-term, signing a five-year extension before the 1997 campaign. But his attitude soured as Minnesota limped to a 68-94 finish that season, and Knoblauch demanded a trade.

He was traded to the New York Yankees just days before camp opened in 1998. The return was four prospects: Eric Milton, Brian Buchanan, Danny Mota, and Cristian Guzmán. Milton and Guzmán were All-Stars in 2001 and big pieces of the team when they finally returned to postseason play in 2002. But developing them into these key pieces wasn’t always pretty—especially Guzmán, who began his career by having arguably the worst season in Twins history.

Baseball America ranked Guzmán as the league’s 68th-best prospect heading into 1999, and he was the Twins' starting shortstop on Opening Day that season. Guzmán went 0-for-2 before getting lifted for pinch hitter Brent Gates. It's not a major league debut for the history books, but it's far from a disaster. Especially with the Twins winning, thanks to a stellar pitching performance from Brad Radke. But things never got better for him as a rookie. 

While starting 126 Twins games at shortstop in 1999, Guzmán posted a miserable .543 OPS. His on-base percentage (.267) and slugging percentage (.276) sat below .280, and the defense wasn’t great either. Guzmán committed 24 errors in 1999, the fifth most by any American League player. It was the second most by an American League shortstop.

Nobody in the American League came close to touching his -2.5 bWAR that season. The second worst was -1.7, recorded by teammate Doug Mientkiewicz. White Sox shortstop Mike Caruso and his -1.6 bWAR was the worst in the American League by any non-Twin in 1999.

This is a rookie season that is impossible to defend, and it very well could be the worst season in Twins history by someone who got regular playing time. But Guzmán was out there on Opening Day once again in 2000. What choice did the team have? Minnesota had become one of the worst teams in baseball since winning the 1991 World Series. Guzmán wasn’t just starting on Opening Day. He was batting second.

And you know what? Things finally got better for the speedy shortstop. The Twins lost 7-0 to a terrible Tampa Bay Devil Rays team, but Guzmán went 2-for-4 with a stolen base. He had an RBI double and another stolen base in their second game, which was a winning effort. His first triple of the season came three days later, and then he hit 19 more. Those 20 triples led the majors and are tied with Goose Goslin of the 1925 Washington Senators for a franchise record.

2001 marked another year of improvement for Guzmán, named an All-Star for the first time. He hit .302 and led the league in triples once again. Guzmán finished 16th in the AL MVP voting and helped Minnesota to their first winning season since 1992. They finished just six games out of a playoff spot, but this young core wouldn’t have to wait much longer to finally get a taste of October baseball, winning the AL Central in 2002 with a 13 game margin.

Guzmán went 6-for-21 (.286) as Minnesota defeated Oakland in the 2002 ALDS, adding two stolen bases and a home run. Like many of his Twins teammates, the rest of his postseason sample was less successful. He hit .217 with no RBI and just one extra-base hit over the remaining 13 playoff games of his career.

Following the Twins' 2004 ALDS loss, the Washington Nationals signed Guzmán in free agency. His first season there was almost as bad as that 1999 rookie campaign. He slashed .219/.260/.314 (.574), and that was aided by a fantastic September where Guzmán hit .325 with nine extra-base hits in 25 games. Without that September surge, this wouldn’t have been “almost” as bad as that rookie season. It would’ve been just as bad.

This was a guy the Nationals were hoping to build around. They had just moved from Montreal and didn’t have much on their roster upon arriving in our nation’s capital. Signing an All-Star caliber shortstop who had been playing October baseball regularly could get fans excited. But instead, poor numbers and a perceived lack of hustle had Guzmán getting booed each time he came to the plate.

Nobody was able to boo him in 2006, as Guzmán missed the entire season due to shoulder and eye surgeries. The booing stopped when he hit a career-best .328 in 2007. Guzmán followed that up by making his second All-Star team in 2008.

But 2009 saw offensive and defensive declines for a now 31-year-old Guzmán. He was moved to second base at the start of 2010 and traded to the Texas Rangers at the deadline that year. Guzmán initially tried to decline the trade by invoking his 10-5 rights but eventually talked into accepting after a few days of “will he, won’t he” drama.

Guzmán hit just .152 for the Rangers after the trade and was left off their playoff roster. Texas reached the World Series, where they fell in five games to the Giants. He sat out the 2011 season while rehabbing from another shoulder surgery, citing unspecified family issues. The Cleveland Indians signed him to a minor league contract in 2012 but released him before spring training ended. This ended the professional career of Cristian Guzmán.

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