CLEVELAND -- President of baseball operations Chris Antonetti caught up with the media on Sunday to discuss a variety of topics, including what’s happening a few hours south with Triple-A Columbus.
Here are a few takeaways from Antonetti's media session.
Bazzana progressing
Travis Bazzana made a strong impression this spring, even in a bit of a limited sample as he spent part of camp representing Australia in the World Baseball Classic. He opened the season with Columbus, and the Guardians have been pleased with his early work.
Bazzana reached Columbus for the first time this past season. Here is how he’s fared in his two stints.
2025 (26 games): 120 PAs, .225/.420/.438, 27.1 K%, 24.6 BB%, 89.3 mph average exit velocity
2026 (19 games, entering Sunday): 92 PAs, .278/.374/.481, 17.6 K%, 13.2 BB%, 89.6 mph average exit velocity
Bazzana has been especially good the past few weeks. In 11 games since April 7, he’s gone 15-for-46 (.326) with seven doubles, one homer and seven walks with 10 strikeouts.
“One of the things we've loved about Travis,” Antonetti said, “is we felt he had a really good foundation in his swing and felt it was a very repeatable swing that, when he's been at his best, he's been able to do for long stretches. Last year, he didn't have those long stretches to really get locked in, and he's working towards that right now.
“We saw progress over the course of spring. The last week of spring was probably the most consistent he's been to date with his approach and with the consistency of his swing.”
Bazzana was limited to 84 games in 2025. He missed two months with a right oblique strain, before he was promoted to Columbus on Aug. 10. He ultimately missed the final week of the season due to left flank soreness. While he’s expected to make his MLB debut this year, he has a chance now to build consistency with the Clippers.
As much as statistics are part of the Guardians’ evaluation for any prospect's potential callup, Antonetti noted there's more to it.
“We're not only looking at what are the actual results,” Antonetti said, “but what are the underlying indicators in those results? And then even the layer deeper, what does the day-to-day work look like? How consistent are those routines?
"What are the physical routines that a guy has? How well is his body responding to the demands of the season?"
What about Espino and Walters?
Espino missed most of 2022-25 due to a pair of right shoulder surgeries. Now healthy, the longtime starting pitcher is working in relief for Columbus. He recorded a 1.59 ERA with six strikeouts and two walks in 5 2/3 innings over his first six appearances. His stuff has been tremendous; in Espino's most recent outing on April 16, his four-seamer averaged 99.5 mph and maxed out at 100.6 mph.
“It continues to be one of the highlights for us,” Antonetti said of Espino's return to health and the mound.
Given his physical history, the Guardians are being mindful as Espino gets reacclimated to the demands of the season. He’s also getting accustomed to the routines necessary for pitching in relief, which is new territory for him.
Antonetti noted Espino is getting to a point where he'll have a bit less structure to his outings going forward. Cleveland will see how his body responds and adjust accordingly. Espino has pitched on three or four days of rest in each outing this season.
Walters has made four appearances with Columbus on a rehab assignment in his comeback from right lat surgery this past June. He's still building up his progression and is not yet an option to help the big league team.
"We think both guys are capable of helping us at the Major League level this year," Antonetti said. "But we will definitely have to balance not only their individual contributions, but how they fit into the entirety of the bullpen.
"Because we do need to think about what their availability could look like, how many innings they can absorb and what impact that might have on other guys."