"Many times in a deal involving a big-name player, like the trade that brought Rick Rhoden from Pittsburgh, the secondary players end up performing a major role for their new team. Cecilio Guante has the tools to be one of those players for the Yankees.
The right-hander will be looking to pitch in middle and late relief, as he did in Pittsburgh. Making 52 appearances in 1986, Guante had a 5-2 record with a 3.35 ERA and four saves. The season ended early for the Dominican Republic native when he went on the disabled list with a sprained right wrist in late August. But before leaving Pittsburgh he moved into ninth place on the Pirates all-time save list.
'He throws hard from three-quarters to sidearm and is very tough on right-handers,' praised general manager Woody Woodward. Now, after four-plus major league seasons with the Pirates, Guante will try to be a major contributor to the Yankee cause."
-The New York Yankees Official 1987 Yearbook
"Guante was acquired by the Yankees along with pitchers Rick Rhoden and Pat Clements from the Pittsburgh Pirates in November 1986 in exchange for pitchers Doug Drabek, Brian Fisher and Logan Easley. All 201 of his career appearances have been in relief and he ranks ninth on the Pirates' save list (20).
He appeared in 52 games for the Pirates last year and finished with a record of 5-2, four saves and a 3.35 ERA. He finished second on the Pirates in appearances and saves, and his five wins represent his career high.
Guante struck out 63 batters in 78 innings pitched (7.3 per 9.0 IP) and has now struck out 7.4 batters per nine innings pitched in his career (293 K in 355.2 IP). He had a batting average against of .225 (65-for-289) and gave up 11 home runs in his 78 innings pitched. He made one plate appearance, on April 18 at Chicago, and struck out; Cecilio has a career batting average of .061 (3-for-49) with no homers or RBIs.
He had a scoreless streak of 13.1 innings pitched from April 26 to May 18 and allowed just one run in 12 appearances (17.1 IP) from June 18 to July 17. His appearance on August 14 at Philadelphia was the 200th of his career. Cecilio struck out a season high five batters in his last 1986 appearance, August 15 at Philadelphia (first game), pitching three scoreless innings and receiving credit for the Pirates' 6-5 win. He was placed on the disabled list on August 25 after sustaining a sprained right wrist. He was activated on September 24 but did not pitch again.
His five wins came on April 14 at Philadelphia (2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K), May 3 at San Diego (2.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K), July 7 at San Diego (2.0 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K), July 19 against San Diego (1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K) and his August 15 win at Philadelphia (3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K). His four saves came on April 12 against Chicago, June 10 against Chicago, June 19 at Montreal and June 30 against Philadelphia. His two losses came on June 3 at Atlanta and on July 22 against Los Angeles. Used mainly in short relief, Cecilio's longest outing of the season was three innings (on three separate occasions).
Cecilio was originally signed by the Pirates as a non-drafted free agent on November 24, 1979. In 1980 he fanned 114 batters in 90 innings, led the South Atlantic League in saves and was named to the league's all-star team in his first pro season.
He opened his second pro season in 1981 at the AA level with Buffalo and had a 0.64 ERA in 10 games to earn a promotion to AAA, where he worked 17 games in a starting role with Portland. Cecilio was recalled by the Pirates from Portland four times during the 1982 season. He made his major league debut on May 1, working 3.2 innings against Houston, and his longest outing was seven innings on July 4th (first game) against Montreal.
Cecilio opened the 1983 season at Hawaii but was recalled on May 26. He picked up his first major league save on June 22, working four scoreless innings against Chicago, and finished second on the club in saves in '83. His first major league win came on June 27 when he pitched seven scoreless innings in relief at St. Louis (and tied his longest career outing).
He was plagued by injuries in 1984 which limited him to 27 appearances, the last coming on July 2 at Los Angeles. He was placed on the disabled list on July 8 with a sore right shoulder, was activated on July 30 and optioned to Nashua (AA Eastern League) where he pitched just one game (3.0 IP) before being sidelined for good by shoulder problems (Cecilio was recalled by the Pirates on September 1 but didn't pitch). His longest outing was 6.2 innings pitched on June 22 (second game) against Philadelphia, giving up one run with no decision. He had 10.1 scoreless innings in nine games between May 15 and June 15.
In 1985 Cecilio established career highs in games (63), innings pitched (109.0) and strikeouts, fanning 92 in 109 innings pitched for a ratio of 7.6 per nine innings. He led the staff in appearances and games finished (31), and made his 100th career appearance on May 17 against Cincinnati.
He did not allow a home run in a stretch of 69.2 innings between April 20 and July 31. Cecilio pitched 5.2 innings of scoreless relief (the longest outing of the year by a Pirate reliever) on July 11 to defeat San Francisco at Three Rivers Stadium, yielding just two hits and one walk while tying his career high with six strikeouts. His scoreless innings streak of 16.1 innings in eight games between August 28 and September 20 was the longest on the staff; he also put together scoreless innings streaks of 14 innings in six games from July 5-22, 13.1 innings in seven games from June 15-July 2 and 10.1 innings from May 19-31.
Cecilio played winter ball in his native Dominican Republic. His hobbies are music and playing cards."
-1987 New York Yankees Information Guide
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