Diamondbacks acquire Josh Naylor in trade with Guardians to fill first base hole

It did not take the Diamondbacks long to find their replacement for Christian Walker.Arizona acquired power-hitting first baseman Josh Naylor in a trade with the Guardians on Saturday, The Post’s Jon Heyman reported.The Guardians will receive pitcher Slade Cecconi and a competitive balance Round B draft pick in exchange for Naylor.Naylor, 27, got his first All-Star nod in 2024, blasting a career-best 31 home runs and 108 RBIs.This came after Naylor had a breakout year in 2023 when he hit a personal-best .308 and snagged a vote in the AL MVP race.Walker, who spent eight seasons with Arizona, signed with the Astros on Friday to a 3-year, $60 million deal.This left a large hole for the D-backs at first base, which Naylor is expected to fill.Although Naylor has proven to be a reliable lefty bat, his defense is not on par with Walker, who won his third straight Gold Glove this past season.On the other side of the trade, the 25-year-old Cecconi has yet to see much success in the big leagues, pitching to a 2-8 record with a 6.06 ERA in 104 innings pitched across the last two seasons.Drafted in the first round by Arizona in 2020, Cecconi did show promise in Triple-A this season, holding a 3.06 ERA with 54 strikeouts in 47 innings.Almost immediately after shipping out Naylor, the Guardians and 39-year-old first baseman Carlos Santana agreed to a 1-year, $12 million contract, Heyman reported.Santana, who started his career with Cleveland, will now return for his third stint with the ballclub.Santana played his MLB 15th season with the Twins this year, batting .238 with 23 home runs.

He also earned the first Gold Glove award of his career.With former MVP first baseman Paul Goldschmidt going to the Yankees on a 1-year deal worth $12.5 million on Saturday, Pete Alonso is the last high-profile first baseman to remain on the free-agent market....