Cleveland Guardians star prospect Travis Bazzana has been well above league-average with the bat in each of his minor league stops to this point. That was the case in his first year as a pro in High-A, then in Double-A and Triple-A in 2025.
He then slugged .857 and had a 222 wRC+ in spring training this year, with three homers and 11 RBI in just eight games. Simply put, Bazzana has yet to fail for an extended period as a professional baseball player. Despite all this, he didn’t make the team out of camp.
It does seem that the only thing that could present a challenge for him at this point is MLB. Guardians insider Paul Hoynes, in a chat with Baskin & Phelps at 92.3 The Fan, said that the team wants to give him more time in Triple-A, but suggested that service time considerations could also be part of the reason why he will open the year in Columbus.
“I think it’s going to be one of those Francisco Lindor-type deals where they might play the service time game, although they certainly haven’t with (Chase) DeLauter,” Hoynes said.
"I just think they really feel he needs to play a little bit more. This guy, along with DeLauter, he opened some eyes this Spring. He's a solid guy. He's a good hitter. I was a little skeptical until you really saw him over an extended period of time…he can play."
🚨 @hoynsie… pic.twitter.com/O1H1ehD55L
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) March 26, 2026
For reference, Lindor played 59 games and took 262 plate appearances in Triple-A in 2015 before finally getting the call on June 13. He was working on an impressive offensive streak when the organization finally caved, hitting .366 over his last 10 games.
To gain an extra year of team control, MLB organizations keep their top prospects in the minor leagues for two or three weeks. This way, they don’t get the minimum of 172 days to gain a year of service time.
Additionally, if a team waits until June (usually by the middle of the month) to call up a rookie, it can usually prevent said ballplayer from reaching Super Two status and entering arbitration after his second year of service time.
Basically, the player collects the minimum salary or something close to it for three years if he isn’t a Super Two. This is why the Guardians, even though they won’t admit it, are probably manipulating Bazzana’s service time clock.
Cleveland, by the way, isn’t the only MLB squad doing this. Virtually everyone does it, and while the league has come up with some incentives for early promotions, this is still a common practice.
In any case, there is a chance we see Bazzana up before the end of April, but he is more likely to be called up at some point in June.
NEXT: Chase DeLauter Draws Comparisons To Former Guardians All-Star
