Ever since making his MLB debut in late April, Cleveland Guardians second baseman and recent All-Star selection Travis Bazzana has taken the league by storm. As of Thursday morning, he is sporting a 110 wRC+ with seven home runs and 12 stolen bases, giving the team some reliable offensive production, power, speed, and on-base ability.
The glove, however, is, for lack of a better way to put it, a work in progress. Bazzana, right now, is not a good defensive player.
That doesn’t mean that he can’t be one in the not-so-distant future. That doesn’t mean he isn’t a hard-working kid who will do his best to improve. The facts, however, speak for themselves. He’s just not there yet.
On Tuesday, he made a costly error in the second inning that led to several unearned runs. Per Statcast, he is in the 36th percentile in Fielding Run Value, below the league average.
Analysts Jonathan Peterlin and Nick Wilson discussed a potential position change for the rookie, with 2027 in mind. They think one of the outfield corners would suit him nicely.
“I think it’s gonna be Bazzana, (Khalil) Watson, and (Chase) DeLauter…that’s your outfield next year. Sign me up for that. This offseason’s gonna be him trying to find out if he can do it,” Peterlin said.
"I think it's gonna be Bazzana, Watson and DeLauter…that's your outfield next year. Sign me up for that. This offseason's gonna be him trying to find out if he can do it."
🚨 @JPeterlin and @NickWilsonSays on why Travis Bazzana's future might not be at 2B for the #Guardians pic.twitter.com/5okSc4NZDN
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) July 8, 2026
While they correctly pointed out that Watson still has a lot to prove and that a lot can happen from this point until 2027 (we might not even have baseball in April because of the looming lockout), they believe that you can ‘hide’ Bazzana in left field, and they might have a point.
The Guardians, however, won’t give up on Bazzana at second base, his natural position, so easily. So far, there haven’t been any indications that they are entertaining switching positions, and the outfield picture is very crowded as it is.
Only time will tell, but so far, Bazzana hasn’t looked particularly good at the keystone. For this hypothetical exercise to work, he would have to prove he has the smarts, the route-running, the reads, and the arm to play in the outfield, so a lot has to happen for it to come to fruition.
It’s not a crazy idea for the future, though.
NEXT: Insider Raises A Potential Concern With Guardians' Rotation
