The Cleveland Guardians aren’t likely to make many – if any – big moves in the offseason. Instead, they will continue to focus on their young talents.
This team has always taken pride in its ability to find and develop some of the best youngsters in the game, and this season won’t be the exception to that rule. Fortunately, they have more than plenty of talent to choose from.
With that in mind, Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report shared his predictions for two young players who will most likely make the Opening Day roster for the Guardians. In his latest column, he chose Travis Bazzana and Chase DeLauter for that:
“The Guardians used the light-hitting tandem of Brayan Rocchio and Gabriel Arias at the middle infield spots for most of 2025, but they will be pushed by 2024 No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana next spring after he reached Triple-A in his first full professional season. Meanwhile, after making his big league debut in the playoffs, Chase DeLauter should get every opportunity to win a job in the outfield, provided he can stay healthy after dealing with myriad injuries since he was drafted in 2022,” Reuter wrote.
Truth be told, that makes perfect sense. If anything, that seemed to be the plan last season.
Travis Bazzana is the No. 1 prospect in the organization, and he thrived last season when healthy. Unfortunately, an injury kept him on the shelf for a while, and it prevented him from doing his thing and being called up to Triple-A Columbus and ultimately the Majors.
As for DeLauter, he became just the sixth player in MLB history to make his debut in the playoffs. That should say all there is to know about the way this team feels about him.
Of course, putting all hopes in two young players to help lead the way for this franchise might be a bit of a gamble. Even so, they’re talented enough to at least be worth the shot and the hype.
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