The Cleveland Guardians plan to call up Bazzana on Tuesday, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The former No. 1 overall pick will take over as the Guardians’ second baseman, beginning with their game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night.
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Bazzana was selected with the first pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, marking the Guardians’ only No. 1 pick in franchise history even though they entered the lottery with only a 2% chance of landing the first pick. Bazzana was just the eighth second baseman to go in the top 10 in the MLB Draft and the first to be selected first.
Bazzana has shined at the Triple A level so far this season. The 23-year-old has a .287 batting average with 10 RBIs and two home runs in 24 starts with the Guardians’ Triple-A affiliate in Columbus. Bazzana missed two months with an oblique strain last summer, which no doubt delayed his promotion to the Guardians.
Bazzana will take over at second on Tuesday and the team intends to go with Juan Brito to make room for him.
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The Guardians will come into Tuesday’s game having lost four of their last five games, including a 3-2 loss to the Rays on Monday night. The Rays recovered late from a two-run hole, thanks to a solo home run by Jonathan Aranda and an RBI single by Ryan Vilade in the eighth inning. The Guardians are now 15-15 on the season, but are just a half-game out of first place in the AL Central race.