Guardians notes: Is Travis Bazzana on the radar for Cleveland?

CLEVELAND — Gabriel Arias is on the injured list with a hamstring strain and is expected to miss at least another month. Brayan Rocchio has relocated to shortstop and his replacement at second base, Juan Brito, has struggled offensively and defensively during his first experience in the major leagues. Is the timing right for Guardians mega prospect Travis Bazzana? "There's a lot of things that go into it," team president Chris Antonetti said of a potential Bazzana promotion from Triple-A Columbus. "The things that we're looking at with Travis are no different than we would be thinking about for any other player, which is one, 'What's the opportunity up here, both in the short and medium and long term?' And then the individual's readiness to come up and help contribute at the major league level. "Those are the two considerations we weigh not only for Travis, but for everybody. And that's all encompassing. That's not just offensively, defensively, baserunning — all the other things that go into it." Bazzana, the franchise's first No. 1 overall draft pick in 2024, missed a large portion of his first full professional season last year with oblique injuries. He was promoted from Double-A Akron, where he hit .256 with five home runs and 23 RBIs in 51 games, finishing with Columbus (.225, four homers, 14 RBIs and an .858 OPS in 26 games). This season began with an appearance for Australia in the WBC, where he went 3-for-16 in four games and hit a homer in the opener. He was hitting .278 with a homer, five RBIs and an .855 OPS in 19 games for Columbus through Monday. "I think he's continuing to progress and build consistency with his at-bats and make progress on both sides of the ball, offensively, and defensively," manager Stephen Vogt said. "(Saturday) night, he had another good game with two extra-base hits, hit his first home run. Actually both those balls, he drove out the other way. So he's making good progress." A move up to the majors might be premature for the 23-year-old Bazzana, who has yet to play a full season in the minors, let alone one at the Triple-A level. Cleveland could also choose to manipulate his service time to delay arbitration eligibility and free agency, a practice multiple MLB teams have employed over the years. + Rocchio had reached base in 10 of his 13 games through Monday since replacing Arias at short, batting .349 with three homers, 11 RBIs and a 1.021 OPS over the span. He entered Tuesday riding a career-high seven-game hitting streak and leading the team in batting average (.286), RBIs (14) and on-base percentage (.390). Struggle buddies Normally a fast starter, Steven Kwan was batting .220 with a .294 on-base percentage and .580 OPS over 23 games through Monday. He entered Tuesday in an 0-for-13 skid. "Kwany feels like he's a little late. And it's not necessarily the ball's in the air, it's the direction," Vogt said. "When Kwany's at his best, he's hitting the ball in the air to right field. That's when we see him at his best. And on the flip side, the league's not really giving him anything to hit in the air to right field. I think he's probably leading the league in two-strike counts. People are getting ahead of him and getting the two strikes very quickly against him. He's aware of it, we're aware of it. We're working, but right now, it's just 'Get back on time and get that ball to right field.'" Chase DeLauter can relate. After a huge start to his MLB career, the rookie has cooled significantly, collecting only one hit in his last 23 at-bats (six games). "He's getting pitched tough. No one's really giving in or going right after him," Vogt said. "But this happens with every hitter who comes up to the big leagues, especially when you get off to the start that he did. They're going to dive in and they're going to pay a little extra attention to you. "But Chase continues to have quality at-bats. He's getting his walks, but every hitter goes through a little bit of a lull. It's how you handle it and how you come out on the other side. Chase is very confident and we have all the confidence in him as well." What's the diff? Vogt doesn't view run differential as an essential statistic. The Guardians' won the division last year, despite owning a -6 run differential, and were in first place through Monday with a -7 run differential. "It's not important at all. I don't care how much we lose by. All I care is that we win," Vogt said. "And I don't think run differential tells a story. I think it could tell a story, but I don't put any weight into run differential at all." Roundin' third The Guardians were 8-0 through Monday when catcher Austin Hedges is in the lineup. With Hedges behind the plate, starting pitchers owned a 1.70 ERA with 52 strikeouts. The only longer undefeated streak by a Cleveland catcher to begin a season was in 1941 when Gene Desautels went 15-0. Guardians pitchers entered Tuesday owning the majors' lowest opposing batting average (.172) on non-fastballs through Monday. Contact Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him @CAwesomeheimer on X.