The Cleveland Guardians offense has shown some signs of life over the past few games on the heels of a series loss against the red-hot San Diego Padres.
The additions of Jo Adell and Nathaniel Lowe have been highly beneficial to this offense. Jose Ramirez has shown signs of life and Angel Genao has provided a nice shot in the arm since being called up from the minors.
On the downside of things, not all members of the lineup have been trending up. Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com recently wrote about Travis Bazzana’s struggles of late and doesn’t believe he looks like the same guy he did when he was originally called up in May.
“[Travis Bazzana] doesn’t look like the same guy that came up and was hitting .311 in May,” Hoynes said. “He’s kind of been on a downward trajectory since then.”
Bazzana’s OPS has dipped under .700 as he is hitting just .178 with one extra-base hit in the month of August. He hasn’t hit a home run since July 20th and is hitting just .199 since May 30th.
It’s important for Bazzana to get as many reps as possible, but it’s getting difficult to justify sending him out there every day when he is struggling like this. The numbers are undeniable and with how well Genao has been playing, manager Stephen Vogt has to play the hot hand and continue to find ways to work him into the lineup.
Giving Bazzana a breather would be easier to do if there were other options chomping at the bit to take at-bats away from him. Genao alone isn’t going to be enough to push Bazzana out of an everyday role, but it’s getting to a point where Vogt might have to strongly consider other options for the stretch run.
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