Red Sox Acquire Catcher Cesar Guzman in Trade with Pirates
FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Boston Red Sox bolstered their catching depth on Tuesday, acquiring 21-year-old Cesar Guzman from the Pittsburgh Pirates. The trade was completed on Guzman’s birthday, a detail not lost on the Bronx native who grew up watching the Red Sox.
Guzman, a right-handed hitter, was drafted by the Pirates in the 17th round of the 2023 MLB Draft after going undrafted out of high school despite being graded an 80 on his arm by Baseball America. He spent the majority of 2023 at Pittsburgh’s spring training and player progress complex before a late-season assignment to Low-A Bradenton. In his professional debut with Bradenton, Guzman went 2-for-5 with a home run in one game.
Prior to being drafted, Guzman excelled at the University of Arizona. As a junior in 2025, he batted .328 with a .411 on-base percentage, .496 slugging percentage, and .907 OPS in 62 games (271 plate appearances).He totaled nine home runs, 12 doubles, 44 RBIs, 43 runs, and 27 walks against 32 strikeouts. He also demonstrated a strong plate approach, recording more walks (26) than strikeouts (19) during his sophomore year at arizona.
“I like to consider myself a gap-to-gap hitter,” Guzman saeid.”I think like most hitters do, I have a little bit more power to my pull side. But I think I do drive the ball well to the opposite-field gap and drive the ball well the other way. I like to stick gap to gap. I don’t like to think pull happy as of shifts nowadays and things of that nature.”
Guzman acknowledged the challenges of being evaluated as a high school catcher. “I wouldn’t say I was surprised I didn’t get drafted,” he said. “Going into it, I kind of had the understanding that high school catching is a difficult market and a difficult thing to assess, especially for scouts.”
The Red Sox, known for their competitive spirit and rich history, were a team Guzman followed closely growing up. ”Growing up in the Bronx, I always watched the Red Sox,” he said.”They were one of the teams that I always had my eye on. Their competitiveness, the rich history they have, the great players they’ve had in the past and present. I’m extremely excited to get out there and learn from them, what they have to offer, how they can develop me.”
The acquisition of Guzman adds a promising young talent to Boston’s system, particularly notable for his potentially elite arm strength, drawing comparisons to former Red Sox catcher Tony Peña.
