Reds icon makes feelings known on Josh Naylor to Diamondbacks trade, Carlos Santana's $12,000,000 move to Guardians
Sean Casey shared his thoughts about the Cleveland Guardians making two headling-grabbing moves last week. They traded away Josh Naylor to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Slade Cecconi and a competitive balance draft pick in the 2025 draft. To fill the void at first base, they welcomed back Carlos Santana on a one-year, $12 million deal.
Naylor's trade took many people by surprise. Following the 2025 season, Naylor will become a free agent, and the club may have known that they have deep enough pockets to extend or re-sign him, especially after his career year in 2024, hitting .243 and 31 home runs.
Three-time Reds All-Star Sean Casey shared his thoughts on The Mayor's Office show:
"I think Josh Naylor did a great job, dude. Josh Naylor had one of those career years. The Guardians see the writing on the wall — they're not going to be able to pay his price tag because he's going to get paid," Casey said (3:50 onwards). "The guy doesn’t strike out, drives in runs, and he’s a killer at the plate. He hits home runs now.
"So, I think the Guardians were looking ahead, saying, 'Listen, we want to be able to get something for Naylor.' Good for Naylor for going to the Diamondbacks. I think that’s going to be great for them."
Casey also made a point for the Dbacks, which lost Joc Pederson to the Texas Rangers.
"The Diamondbacks also lost Joc Peterson, who was a big left-handed bat in that lineup, so they knew they needed to replace him and Christian Walker. I don’t know if Naylor replaces both of them, but he definitely gets them back into a position where they feel comfortable, so that’s a good thing," Casey added.
Sean Casey assesses Carlos Santana's return to the Guardians
Carlos Santana, who comes with a truckload of experience (15-year Major League career), is returning to the Guardians following the 2024 season. He led the Minnesota Twins in homers (23), RBIs (71) and walks (65).
He also became the oldest position player in MLB history to win his first Rawlings Gold Glove Award at first base.
"Santana going back to the Guardians—dude, that guy was a fan favorite, man," Casey said.
"He came up in that organization and really broke into the big leagues with them. Carlos is still playing good baseball. He even got his first Gold Glove last year, so that makes sense."
This will be Carlos Santana's third stint with the Guardians. He played for them between 2010-17 and in 2019-20. During his time there, Santana slashed a .251/.368/.450/.818 batting line with 216 homers and 710 RBIs in 1,334 games while posting a bWAR of 29.8.