Guardians bafflingly chose reunion with near-40 journeyman over All-Star Josh Naylor

If you blinked, you missed it. The Cleveland Guardians traded one first baseman — All-Star Josh Naylor — to the Arizona Diamondbacks for pitcher Slade Cecconi, then replaced Naylor about 9 seconds later by signing free agent Carlos Santana to a 1-year, $12 million contract.

This is a reunion for Cleveland and Santana. Well, more like a re-reunion, as it will be Santana's third stint with the Cleveland baseball team. He started his MLB career in Cleveland, playing from 2010-2017, spent one year in Philadelphia, then went back to Cleveland from 2019-2020.

Santana is loved in Cleveland — rightfully so, as he was the team's most consistent hitter throughout the 2010s — but in 2025, this move seems lateral at best for a team hoping to make a deep playoff run.

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Josh Naylor's contract expires after 2025

Naylor will be a free agent after the 2025 season, so the Diamondbacks are taking a chance that he'll re-sign with them next season. Except, it's not much of a risk because all the team had to give up was a pitcher who may or may not be an MLB-caliber arm.

Is one year of 38-year-old Carlos Santana plus Slade Cecconi better than one year of Josh Naylor and no Slade Cecconi? I don't think so, but I'm also not a baseball general manager. I'm far too sensitive for that — I wouldn't like everyone yelling at me.

If you're a fan of a team that Carlos Santana has played for, you probably liked having him! He's been a good bat for well over a decade. But Cleveland giving up an All-Star-level first baseman to turn around and sign Santana has Guards fans a little miffed, and I can't blame them.