Guardians No. 1 overall draft pick Travis Bazzana expected to miss at least eight weeks with oblique strain

Infielder Travis Bazzana, the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft, will miss 8-10 weeks with an internal oblique strain on the right side, the Cleveland Guardians announced Tuesday. Bazzana felt discomfort after taking a swing on May 14, and tests revealed the strain. He will head to the team’s spring training complex in Arizona to rehab.

Bazzana, 22, was drafted out of Oregon State, and he was performing well but not exactly dominating Double-A before this injury: .252/.362/.433 with four homers and eight steals in 33 games. He’d struck out in 26.2% of his plate appearances, which is certainly not an alarming rate these days, but a little higher than you’d like for a top college hitter and No. 1 overall pick.

Our R.J. Anderson ranked Bazzana the 12th-best prospect in baseball entering 2025. Here’s his write-up:

The short hook: Last summer’s No. 1 pick can really hit

The Guardians’ love for Bazzana was a poorly kept secret within the industry, with several talent evaluators identifying him to CBS Sports as the likely No. 1 pick before the college season even got underway. Whether or not the Guardians ever wavered on their selection is for them to know, but Bazzana did his part to keep them engaged. He again showed off a well-rounded offensive game that includes excellent swing decisions and both above-average strength (despite a smaller frame) and speed. A substandard arm will limit him to second base, and it’s fair to write that he’s maxed out physically — something that divides scouts when it comes to draft prospects. Evaluators have long raved about Bazzana’s work ethic, however, suggesting he’ll be able to make any additional gains that are available to him, be they physical or otherwise. MLB ETA: Spring 2026

The 8-10 week recovery time puts Bazzana on track to return in late June/early July. That does not completely close the door on him making his big-league debut this season, but it does make it less likely. Bazzana has played only 60 games in the minors and hasn’t raked the way Nick Kurtz, the No. 4 pick in last year’s draft, did before the Athletics called him up last month.

Bazzana has only played second base as a pro. The Guardians traded incumbent second baseman Andrés Giménez over the winter, and while shedding the $100 million or so remaining on his contract was the driving force behind the move, clearing a long-term spot for Bazzana was part of the calculus as well. That still is the plan. It will just have to wait a little longer.

Cleveland started this season with Gabriel Arias at second base and Brayan Rocchio at shortstop. Rocchio had a brutal start to the season though, one that earned him a demotion to Triple-A last week. Since then, Arias has manned short, and utility man Daniel Schneemann has gotten most of the playing time at second. He’s hit four home runs in his last 13 games.

Thanks to Arias’ strong April and Schneemann’s recent home run binge, second base has been Cleveland’s most productive position this season, at least by OPS+ (a 100 OPS+ is league average). Here are their position-by-position offensive numbers:

By OPS+, no team in baseball has gotten better production from the second base position than the Guardians. The AL Central rival Detroit Tigers are a distant second with a 142 OPS+ at second base. A year ago, Cleveland received a 90 OPS+ from second base, albeit with Giménez’s superlative defense. They’ve gotten much more offense from the position in 2025.

The wrong lesson to take from this is that Bazzana’s injury, while a bummer, is not a huge deal because the Guardians are getting such surprisingly great production at second base. Schneemann is a utility guy with outfield experience. If his recent power binge is a real breakout, Cleveland could have moved Schneemann to center or right field, and called up Bazzana to play second.

That’s off the table now. Simply put, Bazzana’s injury takes away a potential call-up option for a team that has gotten tremendous production at second base, but still averages only 3.96 runs per game. That ranks 22nd in baseball. Calling up Bazzana was one potential way to add offense. Now that’s not possible, or at least that plan has to be delayed given his injury.

Cleveland enters play Tuesday with a 25-20 record despite a minus-20 run differential. At 8-3, they have baseball’s third-best record in one-run games. The Guardians are in fourth place in the AL Central and four games behind Detroit (+800 to win the division, per Caesars).