The Guardians are promoting 2024 first overall pick Travis Bazzana, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. He’ll presumably take over as the everyday second baseman.
Cleveland’s middle infield has been in flux since Gabriel Arias went down with a left hamstring strain three weeks ago. That moved Brayan Rocchio from second base to shortstop. The Guardians promoted second baseman Juan Brito after the Arias injury, but the 24-year-old rookie struggled after collecting five hits in his first three games. Brito has just four hits in 39 at-bats over his past 12 games. He has also committed four errors across 123 1/3 innings at the keystone.
That opened the door for Bazzana’s first major league look. The Australian-born infielder is out to a strong .287/.422/.511 start over 24 games with Triple-A Columbus. He has taken walks at a huge 17.9% clip against a league average 21.4% strikeout rate. Bazzana only has two home runs, but he has already tallied 11 doubles and a pair of triples. He’s also 8-10 in stolen base attempts.
Bazzana’s advanced hit tool and extremely patient approach have been his calling cards dating back to his college days at Oregon State. He was expected to be one of the quickest players from his draft to the majors. Instead, Chase Burns, Nick Kurtz, Cam Smith, JJ Wetherholt, Jac Caglianone, Christian Moore, Trey Yesavage, Carson Benge and even Konnor Griffin (a high school draftee) were all 2024 first-rounders who got to the big leagues first.
That’s at least partially due to health. An oblique injury limited Bazzana to 77 games between the top two minor league levels last season (plus seven rehab contests at their Arizona complex). It was understandable the Guardians wanted him to open the season in Triple-A. They probably should have swapped him in for Brito earlier than they have.
It’s a moot point now, as Bazzana now joins Chase DeLauter as touted rookies in Stephen Vogt’s lineup. He has been a full-time second baseman in the minor leagues and could see time at the keystone and designated hitter. They can use the hot-hitting Daniel Schneemann more frequently in left field, where George Valera has started slowly. Brito seems likely to be optioned back to Columbus in the corresponding move, though Valera also has an option remaining.
More to come.
