Travis Bazzana’s defensive struggles have Guardians fans urging on nuclear change

At face value, Travis Bazzana’s rookie season has looked like a clear win for the Guardians. 

In the time since he made his debut on April 28, he’s racked up 28 RBI, 13 steals and an All-Star nod while installing himself as a mainstay at the top of Cleveland’s rotation. 

But that time has still come with some struggles, most of which have come on defense. Bazzana entered the All-Star Break being “worth” -4 Outs Above Average at second base (15th percentile) along with having a mark of -3 Defensive Runs Saved. 

While most of Bazzana’s value comes in what he’s able to do at the plate (especially given how much Cleveland’s offense has struggled across the past couple seasons), his defensive struggles are getting harder and harder to ignore. 

And that extra attention has led to a steady drumbeat from Guardians’ fans demanding the Guardians shift Bazzana to the outfield. 

Travis Bazzana's defensive struggles won't be fixed by moving him the outfield

Part of the reason why Guardians fans have been so quick to move Bazzana to the outfield is because it’s something the team’s been quick about itself. It seems like nearly every Guardians position player prospect sees time in the outfield at some point during their minor league career. 

Everyone except Bazzana, that is. 

From the moment the Guardians took him with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, they’ve been adamant that Bazzana’s been a second baseman. 

They put their money where their mouth was in the minors when every one of his defensive appearances came at second, and that’s carried over to the big leagues. 

But that decision hasn’t immediately translated to success considering Bazzana has committed five errors, which is the fifth-most among big league second baseman despite the fact he’s played in just 64 games at the position. 

According to Statcast, he’s been worth -2 OAA moving to both his left and right, and has a -2% success rate added. 

The Guardians quietly showed their hand about Bazzana’s defense on June 9 when they pulled Bazzana in the ninth inning of their 3-2 loss to the Yankees in place of Daniel Schneemann. A day later, the Yankees scored their second run on a Bazzana error. 

Although Bazzana’s made plenty of strong defensive plays at second base, there have also been a variety of plays this year where his lack of range has been on full display. 

And while it’s easy to see one of those plays and immediately demand that Bazzana be the Guardians’ starting right fielder, it’s not that easy. 

First, there’s no way the Guardians move Bazzana to the outfield this season. Any potential change would come after the season. 

Second, he doesn’t exactly have the physical profile of an outfielder. At 5-foot-11, Bazzana would be tied for the smallest player to play in the outfield this year. 

He also doesn’t have the world’s greatest arm (77.1 mile per hour average throw, 17th percentile), though part of that could be due to the fact that he doesn’t have to throw the ball as far as second base. 

Bazzana’s misplays are obviously frustrating (especially since the Guardians work hard to build their team around defense), but his subpar defense at second may just be the tradeoff that comes with having him on the roster. 

Moving him to the outfield won’t fix that.

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