April 20: The Guardians announced that Rocchio has been optioned back to Triple-A, opening a roster spot for right-hander Enyel De Los Santos, who’s returning from the paternity list. Based on Rocchio’s quick return to Columbus, it seems the Guards are confident that Rosario and/or Freeman can both avoid a trip to the injured list. Rocchio didn’t get into yesterday’s game, but he’ll get a day of big league service out of the quick turnaround and head back to Triple-A in preparation for a legitimate opportunity at the MLB level.
April 19, 10:08am: The Guardians have recalled Rocchio and optioned right-hander Hunter Gaddis to Triple-A Columbus back in his place. Zack Meisel of The Athletic tweets that Rocchio may only stay on the big league roster for a day or two. However, both Rosario (back) and Freeman (shoulder) are currently banged up and unavailable, so Rocchio will provide some needed middle infield depth alongside Gimenez and Arias. If either Rosario or Freeman winds up requiring an IL stint, however, Rocchio would stick around longer.
The Guardians will need to make another roster move to bring up a starter for Monday, when Gaddis would’ve gotten the ball.
9:15am: The Guardians are calling up top infield prospect Brayan Rocchio, reports Daniel Álvarez Montes of El Extra Base (Twitter link). He’ll be in Detroit for today’s game, though it’s worth noting that Rocchio is not in the team’s starting lineup that was just released minutes after the report. Gabriel Arias is starting at shortstop, as Amed Rosario has been sidelined the past few games due to back troubles. Speculatively speaking, Rocchio would be a sensible addition if an IL stint has been deemed necessary for Rosario, particularly since Rocchio is already on the 40-man roster.
Rocchio, 22, signed as an amateur out of Venezuela at 16 and has steadily risen through Cleveland’s system while drawing a good bit of fanfare for his hit tool and defensive skill set. He currently ranks as the game’s No. 54 prospect at FanGraphs, No. 69 at MLB.com and No. 74 at Baseball America. The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked Rocchio as high as No. 22 in all of baseball prior to the start of the 2023 season, touting him as a potentially above-average defender at shortstop with a good hit tool and enough power to pop 15 to 20 home runs per season.
Rocchio had a strong showing in Double-A Akron in 2022, batting .265/.349/.432 with 13 home runs in 432 plate appearances. That earned him a promotion to Triple-A late in the season. Then 21 years of age and facing much more advanced competition, Rocchio posted a tepid .234/.298/.387 slash in 152 trips to the plate down the stretch in Columbus.
The 2023 season has gotten out to a much better start, however. Rocchio has appeared in 15 games, taken 70 turns at the dish and turned in a stout .344/.414/.459 with nearly as many walks (eight) as strikeouts (nine). He’s up to a total of 222 Triple-A plate appearances with just a 13.5% strikeout rate dating back to last year, displaying the bat-to-ball skills that have helped make him a touted prospect and that have come to be a hallmark of the Cleveland organization in recent seasons.
Cleveland has a crowded middle infield mix, with Rosario locked in at shortstop and Andres Gimenez entrenched at second base. Rosario is a free agent following the season, which could pave the way for a potential move of the recently extended Gimenez back to his natural shortstop, but regardless of Gimenez’s alignment, the Guardians have a wealth of options should Rosario sign elsewhere this offseason. Beyond Rocchio and the aforementioned Arias, the Guardians also have well-regarded young players in Tyler Freeman, Jose Tena and Angel Martinez, each of whom has reached at least Double-A. Freeman is currently on the big league roster but dealing with a shoulder issue.
Rocchio’s absence from today’s lineup could merely stem from the fact that the Guardians have a day game and he needs to travel to join the team. It’s also possible that he’s merely being called up for a quick depth stint while the team evaluates the health of Rosario and Freeman. Given his prospect status and long-term potential with the club, there’d be little sense in bringing him to the big leagues for any substantial period of time if he doesn’t have a path to regular at-bats.
I hope the can find a place and stay on the roster. Good things from this kid coming to Cleveland.
The Wicked Witch of the West’s favorite player.
“ROCCHIO, WOAH HO”
Guardians just got better in the OF
By calling up ab infielder?
Thought he was a OF, I think I’m thinking of Sal Frelick for some reason.
Let’s go!
Very interesting that Gaddis was sent down. There are very few options currently on the 40-man roster to replace him for his next turn in the rotation.. Curry or Pilkington seem like the most probable options.. but perhaps there is an outside shot we see Bibee or LT Allen
I would think it’s Curry. They had him stretched out for 4 IP/67 pitches on the 11th. They got him a couple of innings during the doubleheader. He might not be fully stretched out for 6+, but they can call up some bullpen help.
Curry is my guess too. It doesn’t look like Pilkington is having a great start to the year..
Gaddis’ first and fourth starts weren’t that bad, but he got rocked in the middle two. I think he’ll figure things out eventually, but living with those train wreck starts is something better done at AAA. Kluber and Bieber started out like this – we just have to be patient.
Wonder what changed? The guards aren’t a team to bring up a prospect (even if just for a day) until they’re sure he’s ready and can be kept as long as possible while in his prime.
Amed Rosario and Tyler Freeman were dinged up. Rocchio was called up to be a reserve infielder in yesterday’s game. Since they sent him back, it is probably a good indicator that Freeman and/or Amed are good to go.
yeah, but the day before they worried enough to start the clock on a top prospect that they would obviously need to play everyday and now they’re not.. There must have been update on one or both of them that hasn’t come out yet.
I am trying to understand the service time impact. He was on the roster for a day and earned a day of service time. Now that he is no longer on the 26-man roster, he is no longer accruing service time, right?
Yes, and for most teams that’s nothing but cleveland is notorious for making financially motivated moves like trading guys like Lindor before they get too expensive in arbitration or keeping guys in the minors as long as possible. I just find it weird that a team with their history would bounce a guy like this up and down like this for seemingly no reason.
The reason they called him up seemwd pretty clear – they had a game and needed a reserve infielder.
Cleveland does a pretty good job of giving young guys an opportunity at the major league level. Arias is a good example.. he has been in the majors all year as a bench piece, when they could just as easily stash him away at AAA.
To be fair, in the CLE system by the time a player runs out of options, it’s pretty clear whether the player is gonna make it in the majors or not. Two recent examples are Bobby Bradley and Yu Chang. Bradley may never make it back to the majors, and Chang (arguably) is a classic AAAA player at best. At least the FO knows when to cut bait, and it’s not all that often.