Cleveland Guardians Suddenly Add 27-Year-Old Before Rays Series

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CLEVELAND, OHIO - OCTOBER 05: Manager Stephen Vogt of the Cleveland Guardians speaks to the media following game two of the American League Division Series against the Chicago White Sox at Progressive Field on October 05, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)

The Cleveland Guardians are set to play the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Championship Series.

The first two games will be played at Tropicana Field. Game 1 is scheduled to start at 8:00 p.m. EDT on Monday.

The Guardians and Rays announced their rosters for the ALCS on Monday morning.

Notably, the Guardians added a 4-year MLB player to their roster.

Cleveland Guardians Add Slade Cecconi to Roster Before ALCS Against Tampa Bay Rays

The Guardians removed utilityman Daniel Schneemann from their roster before the ALCS.

Right-hander Slade Cecconi replaced Schneemann on the roster.

Cecconi posted a 4.91 ERA with 99 strikeouts in 121 innings across 28 outings (21 starts) this season.

The right-hander has four years of MLB experience. He spent the 2023-24 seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks before spending the past two seasons with the Guardians.

Throughout his career, Cecconi has posted a 5.01 ERA with 292 strikeouts over 357 innings.

He made two postseason appearances in 2023 and one last year. Across the playoff outings, Cecconi allowed just one earned run while striking out four over 4 1/3 innings.

Looking at the Guardians-Rays Series

Here is the Guardians-Rays ALCS schedule:

• Game 1: 8:00 p.m. EDT on Monday, Oct. 12 @ Tropicana Field
• Game 2: 8:00 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, Oct. 13 @ Tropicana Field
• Game 3: 6:00 p.m. EDT on Thursday, Oct. 15 @ Progressive Field
• Game 4: 6:00 p.m. EDT on Friday, Oct. 16 @Progressive Field
• Game 5 (if necessary): 8:00 p.m. EDT on Saturday, Oct. 17 @ Progressive Field
• Game 6 (if necessary): 5:00 p.m. EDT on Monday, Oct. 19 @ Tropicana Field
• Game 7 (if necessary): 8:00 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, Oct. 20 @ Tropicana Field

All of the games will be available to watch on TBS and HBO Max.

The winner of the ALCS between the Guardians and Rays will advance to the World Series.

On the National League side, the Los Angeles Dodgers are playing the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS.

The winner of the NLCS will play the winner of the ALCS in the World Series.

The NLCS began on Sunday night. The Brewers won the first game.

The Guardians won the American League Central with an 85-77 record.

The Rays won the American League East with a 98-64 record.

Tampa Bay won five of six games against Cleveland in the regular season.