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Cristian Guzman To Sign With Cleveland Indians, According To Report

The Cleveland Indians continue to make smaller signings and prepare for spring training. According to Jordan Bastian on Twitter, the Indians gave a physical to Cristian Guzman on Tuesday and plan to sign him to a minor league contract with an invite to spring training on Wednesday. It's a significant signing, given Guzman's history.

Guzman made the All-Star team as a shortstop in 2001 and 2008, and after sitting out a season, he's hoping to come back much stronger. He's always been able to make contact with the ball, but his last two seasons were sub-par, with a .266 average with the Rangers and Nationals in 2010. That was over the course of 104 games, but it's a longshot he'll see anything near that much action this coming season.

Still, that's the crux of these deals - you get a chance to come in and compete, and work your way back into a lineup. There's no risk for the Indians because it's such a minor deal and he might be able to light a fire under guys like Jack Hannahan and Jason Donald. His 2008 season saw him hit .316 and post a .345 OBP.

Guzman does have some history with Cleveland manager Manny Acta, playing for him in Washington.

For more on the Cleveland Indians, check out Let's Go Tribe. You can also head over to SB Nation's main MLB hub at Baseball Nation.

Photographs by spatulated, Triple Tri, and chrischappelear used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.