SURPRISE, Ariz. -- What’s been one of the major differences for Slade Cecconi in Spring Training this year compared to last? For one, fewer unfamiliar faces and introductory handshakes.
Cecconi was one of the new guys in camp last year. He joined the Guardians just months prior in the December 2024 trade that sent Josh Naylor to the D-backs, and he faced a natural acclimation process ahead of his first season in the Cleveland organization.
Figuratively, Cecconi was trying to become comfortable last spring in his new home. Metaphorically, he spent last season building it. That’s the greatest difference between where the right-hander is now compared to 2025.
“We had a lot of foundation to establish last year,” said Cecconi, who struck out four over 2 2/3 innings during his second Cactus League start in Monday’s 3-1 loss to the Rangers at Surprise Stadium. “[This year], we're working on the windows and the roofs of the house rather than the bottom.
“We're just tweaking little things here and there, trying to find small ways to make certain pitches a little better, a little sharper, a little later. Just little things now, which is nice. It's much more specific.”
Last season was Cecconi’s first as a full-time starter in the Majors; he bounced between the rotation and bullpen and the Majors and the Minors in two seasons with Arizona. Given that, what we saw in 2025 was a solid starting point to his Cleveland tenure. Over 23 starts, Cecconi logged a 4.30 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP with 109 strikeouts over 132 innings.
Those numbers are also something for Cecconi to build upon this year, as he looks to take another step in Cleveland's rotation, given the work he put in behind the scenes.
Cecconi and the Guardians practically built everything from the ground up last year. They broke down his mechanics to find which positions he was best in and which were the most repeatable. They looked as far back as his collegiate career at University of Miami and landed on his most consistent, repeatable and powerful delivery after some trial and error.
Cecconi also introduced a cutter to his arsenal last season, and increased the usage of his curveball from 8.9 percent in 2024 to 16.5 in ‘25. The idea was simple: Cecconi has a deep mix of pitches, and he should throw his best ones most often. Opponents hit just .141 against his curveball this past season.
“Those adjustments were a little bit more difficult,” Cecconi said of his work last year. “The adjustments this year should not be as large. It's more like, ‘We have the meat and potatoes of the arsenal and the way I move best. Now it's just seasoning the food a little better.’”
That goes back to the idea of Cecconi using the offseason to sharpen what’s already in his tool kit. He’s made small adjustments, such as going to a harder, sharper and tighter cutter and replaced his slurvey slider with a sweeper. The idea is to have something he can consistently repeat and execute. He had good results on his cutter against Texas. It had a 50 percent whiff rate (six whiffs on 12 swings). Last year, it had a 12.5 percent whiff rate.
It’s making revisions to the house, not building it from the ground up.
“I think Slade came to us feeling like he wasn't in the place he knew he could be,” pitching coach Carl Willis said. “This year coming in, it's maintenance and maybe some little tweaks. But he doesn't have it hanging over his head that he is trying to find out 'What's the basis of my delivery, and who am I as a pitcher?’”
Cecconi threw 147 1/3 innings between his regular season in Majors, three rehab starts with Triple-A Columbus and one postseason outing. It surpassed his career high at any level (143 1/3 between MLB and Triple-A with the D-backs in 2023), and he hopes it takes him to new uncharted territory this year. Numbers such as 30 starts and 160-plus innings are on his mind.
An increased workload is one part of the next step for Cecconi. It’s taking all the work he’s done behind the scenes and growing as a big league starting pitcher.
“The house is good,” Cecconi said. “We put a new roof on it. The gutters are clean. I'm going to clean the windows.”