Travis Bazzana has already gone through quite a lot during the 2026 baseball season. In the span of just a few months, he has been the Cleveland Guardians’ potential Opening Day second baseman, was sent to the minors, got passed over for a promotion, finally made his MLB debut, started his career in a terrible slump, became one of the best hitters on the team, and is now batting leadoff.
That’s a lot to digest for anyone, not to mention a 23-year-old second baseman. To his credit, it doesn’t look like any of it has gotten to him at all.
Now, with Bazzana becoming a contender for AL Rookie of the Year, there is talk that the No. 1 overall pick from the 2024 MLB Draft could be a future AL MVP candidate. That is a long way to go in a very short period of time.
Insider Jason Lloyd is revealing reasonable expectations for Bazzana, and he is not ruling out an MVP award in his future, though it’s too soon to put that hope on him.
“Could [Bazzana] have MVP-level potential? I think you could say he’s got that type of upside, but I don’t want to put that kind of label on him this early into his career. I’m just happy he looks like he belongs,” Lloyd said.
It may be difficult for Bazzana to reach those lofty heights, based on the fact that he plays what is considered a lower-profile position. When Dustin Pedroia won AL MVP in 2008, the Boston Red Sox star was the first second baseman to win the award since 1959, when Nellie Fox did so for the Chicago White Sox.
Since Pedroia’s victory, Jose Altuve won the 2017 AL MVP award, and no second baseman in either league has done so since then. In fact, since Joe Morgan won back-to-back NL MVP awards for the Cincinnati Reds in 1975 and 1976, only two National League second basemen, Ryne Sandberg of the Chicago Cubs (1984) and Jeff Kent of the San Francisco Giants (2000), have been so honored.
The good news for Bazzana is that he does manage to win MVP while playing second base, all of those players mentioned, except for Pedroia and Altuve (who is not yet eligible as an active player), are in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
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