The Cleveland Guardians have been without trade acquisition Slade Cecconi since the pitcher suffered an injury during spring training.
Their rotation has been a tad inconsistent and they could certainly use the player they got in the Josh Naylor trade.
Fate won’t allow it, at least for now.
Cecconi is on his way back, though.
He recently took a big step toward returning to the Guardians by facing live hitters.
“Slade Cecconi (15-day IL, left oblique strain) is throwing a live BP this afternoon for the Guardians,” Tim Stebbins of MLB.com wrote on X.
Slade Cecconi (15-day IL, left oblique strain) is throwing a live BP this afternoon for the Guardians.
— Tim Stebbins (@tim_stebbins) April 12, 2025
When a pitcher suffers an injury, the road back can have lots of hurdles to clear. Long toss and several bullpen sessions are the first ones, and those steps can take multiple weeks.
After that, he graduates to face live hitters, getting to test his stuff against real-life batters.
That’s where Cecconi is at right now.
He still needs to throw more live batting practice sessions, until the team feels comfortable with him going on a rehab assignment.
Considering he has been out for a while, Cecconi is expected to need two or three rehab starts, at the very least, before he is deemed fit to return to game action.
His role (and destination) likely will be determined by several factors: How he looks in his rehab stint, whether there is an opening in the Guardians’ rotation or bullpen, and others.
There is a chance Cleveland assigns him to Triple-A for an extended period of time.
Cecconi posted a 6.66 ERA last season with the Arizona Diamondbacks and had a 16.88 mark this spring with Cleveland.
He has work to do if he wants to put it all together.
The Guardians like the tools, though.
NEXT: Underrated Infielder Is Maturing And Performing For Guardians
