Brayan Rocchio

Career

Rocchio was signed as an international free agent by the Cleveland Indians in July 2017. He made his professional debut with the Dominican Summer League Indians in 2018.

Rocchio was promoted to the Arizona League Indians after hitting .323 in 25 games for the DSL Indians. He had an even better season with the AZL Indians, hitting for a .343 batting average in 35 games. Across both leagues in his first professional season, Rocchio hit .335 in 60 games. For his 2019 season, he played the full season with the Low-A Mahoning Valley Scrappers. He played in 69 games, hitting for a .250 batting average. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The newly named Cleveland Guardians selected Rocchio to their 40-man roster on November 19, 2021. Rocchio was optioned to the Triple-A Columbus Clippers to begin the 2023 season.On April 19, 2023, Rocchio was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He did not see game action for the Guardians and was optioned back to Columbus the following day, becoming a phantom ballplayer. On May 16, Rocchio was again promoted to the major leagues after José Ramírez was placed on the bereavement list. Rocchio made his major league debut that day.

Rocchio was Cleveland's opening day starting shortstop in 2024. He played regularly, struggling as a batter but with solid defense. In the playoffs, he hit .333/.421/.485 in 10 games. The Guardians lost to the New York Yankees in five games despite Rocchio's efforts. However, he started off 2025 slowly and was demoted to Triple-A in May. He returned to the Guardians on July 1. On September 28th, Rocchio hit a walk-off three-run home run in the 10th inning against the Texas Rangers to end the final game of the regular season.

Rocchio appeared for Italy in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.