CLEVELAND -- When Slade Cecconi learned Monday the Guardians acquired starter Foster Griffin from the Nationals before the 6 p.m. ET Trade Deadline, he had a pretty good idea of what it would mean for him personally.
Later in the evening, manager Stephen Vogt called Cecconi to confirm his intuition. Vogt told the 27-year-old he was moving from the rotation to the bullpen to accommodate Griffin’s arrival.
“I knew it was going to be me, and that's fine,” Cecconi told MLB.com pregame Tuesday. “We're here to compete to win a World Series. We're not here to play favorites or worry about somebody's feelings. Whatever I’ve got to do to help this team win ballgames, I'm going to do it.”
It didn't take long for Cecconi to put that into action. He made his first relief appearance since Sept. 11, 2024, on Tuesday, in the Guardians' 6-2 loss to the Mets at Progressive Field. He struck out four batters and allowed one run on two hits (including a solo home run) over 2 2/3 innings in relief of starter Joey Cantillo.
The Guardians’ starting staff has been their backbone all season. Cleveland entered Tuesday sixth in the Majors in rotation ERA (3.68), behind a group that has been extremely durable. The Guardians’ Opening Day rotation of Cecconi, Tanner Bibee, Cantillo, Parker Messick and Gavin Williams started all but one of the club’s first 113 games.
Nonetheless, the Guardians’ brass explored all avenues to improve before the Deadline. Landing outfielder Jo Adell and Nathaniel Lowe bolstered an offense that has struggled mightily. Griffin improves what already was a rock-solid starting staff.
Over 22 starts with the Nationals, Griffin logged a 3.06 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP, with 116 strikeouts and 30 walks over 129 1/3 innings. The 31-year-old earned his first All-Star nod this season. Cecconi, meanwhile, had a 4.78 ERA (highest among Cleveland’s starters) and a 1.47 WHIP with 84 strikeouts and 35 walks in 107 1/3 innings over 21 starts.
"I was maybe a little bit disappointed in my own performance as of late," Cecconi said postgame Tuesday.
Cecconi had a 6.56 ERA in 35 2/3 innings through his first seven starts. He bounced back to log a 2.63 ERA in 54 2/3 innings over 10 starts, which spanned through June. But he logged a 7.94 ERA in 17 innings over his final four starts before moving to the bullpen.
“Obviously, it's never fun to have your role change, but Slade is such a great teammate,” Vogt said pregame Tuesday. “He's just excited that he's here to help us win ballgames, however that looks. He's willing to take the ball whenever we ask him. It's going to be a change to his routine. It's going to be a change to some things. So it might take him a little time to settle into what the new day to day looks like. But he took the news really well because he just wants to help us win games.”
Griffin is set to make his Guardians debut against the Mets on Thursday, in the finale of a three-game series at Progressive Field. He will be on five days’ rest. Bibee will start Wednesday, when Cecconi was scheduled to start. Bibee (who last started on Friday) will be on normal rest. He was scheduled to start Thursday, but threw a bullpen Sunday just in case this scenario played out.
This is a change for Cecconi, but not new territory. In his first two big league seasons, from 2023-24 with the D-backs, 10 of his 27 appearances came in relief. Cecconi acknowledged the change will be an adjustment to his workload and mentality, but he’s confident he can handle it given his experience.
"When the phone rings, it's like Pavlov’s dog, man," Cecconi said postgame Tuesday of pitching in relief. "You start grinding your teeth a little bit. You start thinking about reasons to hate that guy in the box, and that fires you up and you get going."
The Guardians had a few potential avenues after landing Griffin. They could have gone with a six-man rotation, which was a massive success for them last September, to mitigate workloads. They could have optioned Cecconi to Triple-A Columbus to keep him stretched out. Cleveland is thin on big league-ready rotation depth in the Minors beyond lefty Logan Allen. It would be interesting to see what the Guardians would do if they needed someone to make a start in a pinch.
Cecconi is taking things as they come.
"We’ve gotta win baseball games," he said Tuesday night. "We're trying to do something special here. Whatever I can do to help the team accomplish that goal, I'm here for it."