There was a lot of pressure on Brayan Rocchio and Gabriel Arias heading into the 2026 season for the Cleveland Guardians. Both had subpar seasons at the plate last year and with former No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana having a strong World Baseball Classic, the clock is already ticking.
Bazzana is already breathing down their necks with some already claiming he should be called up immediately. Others believe it’s time for the Guardians to take things a step further and use Konnor Griffin’s recent nine-year extension with the Pittsburgh Pirates at 19 years old as inspiration to do the same with Bazzana.
Mike Axisa of CBS Sports recently wrote an article examining which prospects around baseball could be in line for big extensions next. Griffin’s new deal with the Pirates wasn’t unique, and Axisa believes Bazzana could be a prime candidate for a similar deal sometime soon.
“The No. 1 pick in the 2024 Draft, [Travis] Bazzana has been beaten to the big leagues by several of his first-round brethren (Griffin, Wetherholt, Yesavage, Chase Burns, Nick Kurtz, Jac Caglianone, etc.), though he remains a very good prospect and a potential foundational player for the Guardians. Cleveland began the practice of buying out arbitration and free-agent years with long-term extensions in the 1990s. It stands to reason they’ll explore such a deal with Bazzana, perhaps even before his MLB debut,” Axisa wrote.
Locking up Bazzana early would be a wise move for a team like the Guardians that refuses to spend big in free agency. There are already analysts clamoring for the team to do the same with Chase DeLauter after his blistering start, and locking up both would be a way to ensure this franchise has two cornerstones at the plate for nearly a decade.
It’s a trend that is becoming more widespread around the league, as guys like Griffin, Colt Emerson, Roman Anthony, Bobby Witt Jr., Jackson Merrill, Samuel Bassalo, and plenty of other big prospects have signed deals that buy out a couple of years of their eventual free agency in exchange for some long-term security and more money early on. It would benefit the Guardians to follow this trend and do the same with Bazzana and DeLauter.
Bazzana isn’t off to a blistering start in Triple-A Columbus, but his bat is bound to get hot soon. He is one brief hot streak away from forcing Cleveland’s hand, and a nine-figure deal would certainly look nice alongside his inevitable promotion.
NEXT: Stephen Vogt Speaks Out About Guardians' First Homestand
