Slade Cecconi is turning this maligned offseason trade into a win for the Guardians

Slade Cecconi’s has gone on quite the journey over the past eight months. 

After ending the 2024 season at Triple-A with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Cecconi went East in the offseason when the Guardians acquired him in a trade in December that sent fan favorite Josh Naylor out to Arizona. 

It was a trade that didn’t go over well with the fanbase. While the trade made a bit of financial sense since Naylor was due raise in his final year of arbitration (he ended up getting $10.9 from the Diamondbacks), that fact was cold comfort for most of the Guardians’ fan base.

Slade Cecconi is turning this maligned offseason trade into a win for the Guardians

The Guardians acquired Naylor from the Padres at the trade deadline in the truncated 2020 season and he quickly emerged as a lighting rod outfielder who made a name for himself in Cleveland’s American League Wild Card Series loss to the Yankees. 

While he missed most of the 2021 season after he suffered a gruesome knee injury while playing in right field, he bounced back to become a power-hitter, smoke-wanting first baseman who was known for throwing helmets and calling Gerrit Cole his son.

He was also coming off the finest season of his MLB career, as he finished 2024 with a .243/.320/.456 slashline with 31 home runs and 108 RBI, which helped him earn the first All-Star nod of his career.

But that didn’t stop the Guardians from dealing him to Arizona for Cecconi and a Competitive Balance Round B draft, which will be the No. 70 pick in next weeks’ draft. 

Cecconi’s time with Cleveland got off to a bit of a rough start since he didn’t break camp with the team due to a left oblique strain that required a rehab assignment at Triple-A Columbus. 

He made his Cleveland debut in the middle of May against the Cincinnati Reds, and has gotten better as the season has gone on. He’s gone at least five innings in seven of his nine starts this year, and put together one of the best starts of his career last month when he blanked the Athletics over seven innings. He allowed just two runs in six innings against the Tigers his last time out.

The full context of the trade is determined by more than just the on-field performances, however. 

As mentioned above, Naylor’s in the final year of arbitration, and is due for a big payday in free agency. It’s hard to believe the Guardians would pay that, especially after they traded for the left-handed hitting Kyle Manzardo at the trade deadline in 2023. 

While Manzardo doesn’t have the kind of raw power that Naylor is known for, he’s shown flashes this year and is one of the few hitters on the team who has been above league-average. 

On the other side, Cecconi won’t be eligible for free agency until 2031. While he entered the year with a 6.06 ERA across 104 MLB innings, the Guardians clearly saw something they liked with him and trusted that their pitching factory would be able to help turn Cecconi into a bonafide MLB pitcher. That’s been the case through nine starts this year. 

Although it hurts to see Naylor play as well as he has for the Diamondbacks this year (.299/.358/.469, 11 HR, 58 RBI), he may not be long for the desert given Arizona’s struggles.

The Diamondbacks enter play on Tuesday 4 1/2 games out of a playoff spot, which has led to rival general managers highlighting Naylor as a player who could be a lock to get dealt at the deadline. 

That sentiment would be the same had he stayed in Cleveland, so the Guardians did a good job of trading him in the offseason (where teams are usually able to get more in return for players) as opposed to at the trade deadline.  

The Guardians saw the writing on the wall with Naylor’s contract (and, according to legendary scribe Terry Pluto, his weight) and decided to pull the plug. The final grade for this trade won’t be able to be issued for multiple years, but the early returns on Cecconi have been good.  

At this point, that should be enough for Guardians fans.