In the 2024 postseason, the Cleveland Guardians fell short to the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series. Many Guardians fans saw last season and postseason as a successful one for Cleveland. However over the past few months, Stephen Vogt, the team’s manager, and Chris Antonetti, Guardians president, have made some huge roster changes for the upcoming season. Guardians fans had a lot to say about these transactions, and not much of it was positive.
One of the biggest losses for fans was first baseman (1B) Josh Naylor who was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for Right-handed pitcher (RHP) Slade Cecconi. Another devastating loss was 3x Golden Glove Award winner and second baseman (2B) Andrés Giménez who was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays.
While the Guardians acquired some effective players with a lot of potential, they traded some of their most beloved players, Giménez and Josh Naylor. Fans feel nothing short of betrayal from the Guardians after losing two very effective fan favorites.
Giménez made it happen at second base with a .986 fielding percentage in the 2024 season and a .987 fielding percentage for his entire second base career in the Majors. Giménez was a 3x recipient of the Gold Glove Award, awarded for a superior individual fielding performance throughout a season. He was also the first ever Guardian’s player to be awarded the 2023 American League Platinum Glove Award.
While Giménez was a good overall player, he was mostly effective defensively. He has had a decent offensive career so far with a .261 batting average (AVG) along with a .322 on-base percentage (OBP). Unfortunately, “decent” wasn’t cutting it. Giménez was expected to produce more hits for the Guardians, and he didn’t meet those expectations.
We all understand that the World Series title is the ultimate goal, but that doesn’t mean getting rid of our favorite players in search of better. Antonetti claims that one of the main reasons behind these trades was to strengthen the pitching rotation by adding Cecconi, Sandlin, Ortiz, Kennedy and Hartle.
While a reliable pitching rotation is great, it’s Major League Baseball. Batters are going to hit the ball, and if they want to win a title, our infield needs to be a wall. Giménez was an essential part of that for the past four seasons.
First base is another essential part of the defensive baseball diamond. Almost every play is completed with a throw to first base. But that’s not where the responsibilities of the first baseman ends. Other than the pitcher, first and third baseman are closest to home base, meaning they typically have the shortest amount of time to react to the ball and make a play.
American League All-Star Josh Naylor delivered countless outstanding performances for the Guardians not only at first base but also at the plate for five unforgettable seasons. Josh Naylor played alongside his brother Bo Naylor, catcher for the Guardians, for the past three seasons.Guardians fans loved the connection between the Naylor brothers and were upset to see them split.
In exchange for Josh Naylor, Cleveland acquired RHP Slade Cecconi from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Cecconi’s career stats at the mound fail to impress Guardian’s fans. In Cecconi’s two seasons in the majors, both for the Diamondbacks, he threw 104.0 innings and earned a 6.06 earned run average (ERA). This number is unimpressive at best. It may lead you to ask yourself the same question many of us fans were asking on Dec. 21– “Why would the Guardians trade our beloved first baseman for a pitcher with mediocre stats?”
The Guardians signed free agent 1B Carlos Santana to replace Josh Naylor at first. Santana is no stranger to Guardians fans, though. Santana has played on the Guardians two other times prior, from 2010-2017 and from 2019-2021.
Santana is no insignificant player, he has achieved many impressive stats throughout his time in the MLB and on the Guardians specifically. Just last season, Sanatana won a Gold Glove Award while playing with the Minnesota Twins. Despite his successful career, fans are skeptical about this transaction. Santana is, after-all, 38-years-old and even made the Top 10 Oldest Players in the MLB list. This raises a certain question for fans– “Is Carlos Santana too far past his prime?”
Fans weren’t shocked by these huge changes. The Guardians tend to make large transactions every year and the rumors of Josh Naylor’s trade had been going on offseason. This year is different, though, because the Guardians always receive effective players in their yearly transactions, but this year, the new players didn’t exactly meet anyone’s expectations. Then again, who could even replace Giménez and Josh Naylor?
