The Cleveland Guardians have a new face in their clubhouse, and another rookie presence in that locker room is already making him feel like he belongs. Perhaps nobody has been more direct about what Travis Bazzana brings to this team than Chase DeLauter, who took a moment after Wednesday’s win over the Tampa Bay Rays to share exactly what he thinks about his new teammate.
“He’s a hitter. He’s going to hit for us. He’s going to help us win games, and he’s going to play a good second base, and that’s all you can ask for, so excited to keep playing with him,” DeLauter said.
#Guardians rookie Chase DeLauter on what it’s been like being able to play alongside Travis Bazzana the past two days:
“…He's a hitter. He's going to hit for us. He's going to help us win games, and he's going to play a good second base, and that's all you can ask for, so…
— Cade Cracas (@CracasCade) April 29, 2026
DeLauter knows what a legitimate hitter looks like from the inside of a professional clubhouse. He has been one himself through the first month of the 2026 season, slashing .257/.345/.485 with 5 home runs and a team-high 18 RBI.
Bazzana went 0-6 in his first two games, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. He worked counts, showed real plate discipline, and demonstrated the kind of zone awareness that made him the first overall pick in the 2024 draft.
The throwing error Bazzana committed in Wednesday’s seventh inning, which allowed Yandy Diaz to score from first and make it a 3-1 game, was a legitimate miscue that he owned immediately and apologized to Gavin Williams for in the dugout. The defensive transition to second base at the major league level is a real and ongoing process, and nobody inside that clubhouse is pretending otherwise. But DeLauter’s confidence that Bazzana is going to play a good second base reflects what his teammates are seeing in him every day in practice and in pre-game preparation.
The 0-6 start will not last. DeLauter knows it. The coaching staff knows it. And based on what Bazzana has brought to the lineup in his first two major league games, the rest of the AL Central should probably start figuring it out too.
He’s a hitter. Chase DeLauter said it. The numbers that are coming will prove it.
NEXT: Two Unexpected Guardians Are Carrying The Offense Right Now
