The Rangers are reportedly developing a 2024 first-round pick Travis Bazzana. He should show up tomorrow and take over as the everyday second baseman. They will open an active list area with the selection Juan Brito. Cleveland still has an opening on the 40-man roster after being waived Colby Allard a few weeks ago, so no further transport is necessary.
Cleveland’s midfield has been in flux ever since Gabriel Arias He went down with a strained left hamstring three weeks ago. That moved Brian Rocchio from second base to shortstop. The Rangers promoted Brito after Arias was injured, but the 24-year-old struggled after collecting five hits in his first three games. Brito had just four singles in 39 at-bats over his next 12 contests. He also committed four errors in 123 1/3 innings.
That opened the door for Bazzana’s first major league appearance. The Australian-born hitter hit a solid .287/.422/.511 in 24 starts with Triple-A Columbus. He walked at a whopping 17.9% clip compared to a league average of 21.4%. Bazzana has just two home runs, but has collected 11 doubles and a triple. He was also 8-10 on steal attempts.
Bazzana’s most advanced hitting tool and most patient approach has been his calling cards dating back to his college days at Oregon State. He was expected to be one of the fastest players from his frame to the forwards. Instead, Chase Burns, Nick Kurtz, Cam Smith, JJ Wetherholt, Jac Caglianone, Christian Moore, Trey Yesavage, Carson Benge and even Connor Griffin (a high school student) were all 2024 first basemen to reach the majors before he did.
That’s at least for life. Two oblique injuries limited Bazzana to 77 games between the major league levels last season (and seven rehab contests at the Arizona complex). It was understood that the scouts wanted him to open the season in Triple-A. However, they had to trade Brito before they had it in April.
It’s a bad point now, as Bazzana joins Chase DeLauter as respected rookies on Stephen Vogt’s list. He became a full-time second baseman in the minor leagues and saw time at first base and designated hitter. That will allow them to use the hot-hitting utility player Daniel Schneemann more often in left field compared to right field. George Valera got off to a slow start since the season-opening calf-type comeback, while switch-hitting Angel Martinez has better career numbers against lefties.
Bazzana comfortably meets the eligibility criteria for the Prospect Promotion Incentive. He entered the season among the league’s top 25 talents per MLB Pipeline, Baseball America and ESPN. He was a bit lower in the preseason rankings from FanGraphs and Keith Law of The Athletic but was still a top-100 consensus prospect.
It’s beyond the point where Bazzana can accumulate a full year of service in time spent on an MLB roster. He will earn a full year of service time if he finishes in the top two in AL Rookie of the Year voting. It will be a challenge to compete with Kevin McGonigle, Munetaka Murakami, Carter Jensen and teammates DeLauter and Parker Messick among what could be an excellent AL rookie class. The Rangers would not be eligible for an additional draft pick if Bazzana won Rookie of the Year because they waited until the second week of April to call him up.
If Bazzana doesn’t land on an MLB roster, he’ll be a lock to be eligible for early retirement as a Super Two player after 2028. The Rangers will hope he hits the ground running and solidifies his hold on the second base job. If not, future minor league option assignments could change the course of his service. Arias’ initial recovery timeline of 4-8 weeks left open a possible May return. He should be a utility player but could regain the shortstop job and push Rocchio to second if Bazzana struggles in his first major league appearance.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported Bazzana’s promotion. Zack Meisel of The Athletic reported Brito’s demotion. Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images.
