11 Ronald Guzman 1B

Guzman went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Saturday's Cactus League game against the White Sox.

Guzman started at first base and batted eighth in what resembled a regular-season lineup for the Rangers. Seeing a first baseman batting eighth is not an encouraging indicator of a player's potential fantasy value. He and Greg Bird are still battling for the starting job, so Guzman is not assured of anything yet. Neither has done much to distinguish himself this spring; Guzman is 3-for-15 with seven strikeouts while Bird is hitless in 10 at-bats.

Guzman went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Astros.

Guzman's eighth-inning homer brought the Rangers to within one, but their comeback ended there. For Guzman, it was his 10th homer of the season and the eighth time in the last nine games with at least one hit. He's still sitting against left-handers but has posted a .324./.419/.568 line during September. It remains to be seen whether this finish will lead to an everyday job next season.

Guzman went 3-for-5 with a double, a solo homer and a second run scored in Sunday's 10-4 win over Baltimore.

Guzman cracked his ninth home run of the season and first since his callup at the beginning of September. In seven games (six starts) since his recall, Guzman is 8-for-20 (.400). Most of that has come off right-handed pitching, so the left-handed-hitting first baseman still has work to do in order to claim a full-time role in 2020. Additionally, there's the issue of power from a corner-infield spot. Sunday's extra-base hits were the first since the recall for the 24-year-old, who has slugged just .416 over 198 games in the majors and .419 in eight minor-league seasons.

Guzman will start at first base and bat sixth Sunday against the Orioles.

Guzman will crack the lineup for the third straight day and the fourth time in five games. The 24-year-old should continue to see steady action against right-handed pitching while Nomar Mazara misses time with an oblique injury. Mazara's absence opens up a regular spot in the outfield for Shin-Soo Choo and clears room for rookie Nick Solak at designated hitter.

Guzman started at first base and went 2-for-4 in Wednesday's 4-1 loss to the Yankees.

Since being called up with September's roster expansion, Guzman has started two games, both against right-handed starters. There was a sense coming from the team's decision-makers that Guzman would play regularly over the final month. He hit well (.904 OPS) during a 30-game stay at Triple-A Nashville, including a respectable .279 against southpaws, so they would like to see him continue that in the majors with an eye toward being the full-time first baseman in 2020. For that to occur, they need to put him in the lineup against left-handed starters as well.

Guzman started at first base and went 1-for-3 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored in Monday's 7-0 win over the Yankees.

Guzman, who was called up over the weekend, made his first start since rejoining the team. He is expected to be in the lineup whenever the Rangers face right-handers as was the case Monday. The 24-year-old hit well during his demotion to the minors, fueling the Rangers' hope that he puts in a claim on the starting first base job in 2020 with a productive September.

The Rangers recalled Guzman from Triple-A Nashville ahead of Sunday's 11-3 loss to the Mariners.

As expected, Guzman was one of six players to join the Rangers for the series finale as part of Sunday's roster expansion. He entered the contest as a pinch hitter, drawing a walk in his lone plate appearance. Guzman should be in store for at least a semi-regular starts at first base versus right-handed pitching in September.

Guzman will rejoin the Rangers on Sunday when rosters expand, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports.

Guzman is expected to reclaim the starting first base job as the Rangers evaluate a position of need for 2020. Since his demotion to Triple-A Nashville, Guzman is slashing .316/.409/.518 with five home runs, eight doubles and 16 RBI over 29 games. "He is doing well down there," Rangers manager Chris Woodward said. "I want to see it. He has worked hard in Triple-A. I would like to see him on a pretty much everyday basis. I can't say every day, but I want to see it." The Rangers have been getting by with Danny Santana and Logan Forsythe at first base, but neither is a long-term solution. Santana has little experience there and Forsythe will be a free agent in 2020.

Guzman was demoted to Triple-A Nashville on Tuesday.

Guzman has spent most of the year as the Rangers' starting first baseman but endured a tough time at the plate, hitting .193/.282/.396, numbers that better suit a backup catcher than a first baseman. Danny Santana and Logan Forsythe appear to be the primary options at first base while Guzman sorts things out in the minors.

Guzman is out of the lineup for Friday's game at Houston.

Guzman will sit for the third straight contest, and Friday's absence comes as no surprise since he is 0-for-17 in his career with 12 strikeouts against Astros starter Justin Verlander. Danny Santana will start at first base and bat second in the series opener.

Guzman is not starting Wednesday against the Diamondbacks.

Guzman will remain on the bench for a second straight game with another lefty in Robbie Ray starting for the Diamondbacks. Logan Forsythe is starting at first base and hitting sixth in this one.

Guzman isn't starting Tuesday's game against the Diamondbacks.

Guzman will take a seat with a southpaw in Alex Young slated to toe the rubber for the opposition. Danny Santana draws the start at first base and will hit sixth with Guzman out of the lineup.

Guzman is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Astros.

Guzman sat for three out of the last four games prior to the All-Star break as well, though two of those came against left-handed starters or primary pitchers. Lefty Framber Valdez is expected start Thursday's game for Houston.

Guzman is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Twins.

The Twins will be deploying a lefty (Devin Smeltzer) as their main option behind opener Kyle Gibson in the series finale, which may be a factor in why the lefty-hitting Guzman is on the bench. Since returning from the injured list in early May, Guzman is batting .205/.287/.384 across 49 games. He could be in danger of losing out on his large-side platoon duty at first base to Danny Santana, who will start in his stead Sunday.

Guzman is starting at first base and batting eighth Saturday against the Twins.

Guzman was out of the lineup both Thursday and Friday with right-handers on the mound. However, he's back in the lineup Saturday against righty Michael Pineda. Guzman is hitting .242/.317/.460 across 139 plate appearances against right-handed pitching this season.

Guzman is out of the lineup for Friday's game at Minnesota.

Guzman sat versus a right-handed starter Thursday, and he'll stick on the bench Friday with left-hander Martin Perez on the mound for the Twins. The 24-year-old's .221/.307/.360 slash line since the start of June has his playing time on shaky ground. Logan Forsythe will take over at first base in the series opener.

Guzman is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Angels.

He will give way to Danny Santana at first base, even with a right-hander in Griffin Canning on the mound for the opposition. Guzman is 0-for-10 with five strikeouts in his last three games and is batting just .221/.307/.360 with one homer since the start of June. We could see Guzman sit more frequently if he doesn't pick it up.

Guzman is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Rays.

Guzman is just 6-for-45 (.133) against southpaws this season, so it does not come as much of a surprise that he is being withheld from the lineup with southpaw Brendan McKay on the bump for the Rays. Logan Forsythe will start at first base for the Rangers on Saturday.

Guzman is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Tigers.

Guzman's absence from the lineup is more notable than normal with the Rangers facing a right-handed starting pitcher (Spencer Turnbull) in the series finale. Though he's occupied the strong side of a platoon at first base this season, Guzman could be in danger of slipping into a regular reserve role with Danny Santana raking at the plate. Santana will likely shift between first base and the keystone for the time being with both Guzman and primary second baseman Rougned Odor struggling to produce offensively.

Guzman went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI in Tuesday's 5-3 win over the Tigers.

He took Daniel Stumpf deep in the sixth inning with a solo shot that proved to be the winning run, giving the Rangers a 4-0 lead at the time. It's Guzman's first long ball since May 28, and the 24-year-old is now slashing .222/.304/.449 on the year with seven homers and 24 RBI in 51 games.