Guardians hire former All-Star catcher as manager

The Guardians hired Stephen Vogt as manager, per a team announcement. Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com first reported the news. Vogt is scheduled to be formally introduced as manager during a press conference on Nov. 10.

Vogt, who recently celebrated his 39th birthday, made his big league debut for the Rays in 2012. He went on to play for five more organizations over his 10 seasons in the majors, including six years with the A’s. During his time in Oakland, Vogt slashed .246/.308/.406 good for a roughly league-average wRC+ of 98 and was named an All-Star in both 2015 and 2016. He also played for the Brewers, Diamondbacks, Giants and Braves throughout his big league career. Upon retiring from playing following the 2022 season, Vogt was hired by the Mariners to act as a bullpen and quality control coach in Seattle.

Vogt will now step into the shoes of the recently retired Terry Francona as Guardians manager. It’s a remarkable achievement for the former catcher, who moves into the role just one year removed from his time as a player. As quick an ascent to the managerial chair as Vogt has had, it’s hardly an unexpected one. Vogt publicly voiced his managerial aspirations while he was still a player back in 2020, and he has long been regarded as up to the task among those in the game. Bob Melvin, who managed Vogt in Oakland and has since moved from the Padres to the Giants, noted even as Vogt was first retiring from professional play that his longtime player “definitely has a future in managing” while adding that his value in the clubhouse during his playing career was “immeasurable.”

Such a strong endorsement from a well-respect big league manager surely gives the Guardians assurance that he’ll be able to lead their roster into an uncertain 2024 campaign. After making a surprise run to the playoffs in 2022, Cleveland faced regression from many of its young players and injuries to key members of the pitching staff, and the Guardians wound up finishing third in a weak AL Central with a 76-86 record. As the club looks to rebound next season, president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti was particularly effusive in his praise of the longtime catcher in a statement.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Stephen and his family to Northeast Ohio and to name him the next manager of the Cleveland Guardians,” Antonetti said in the statement. “Stephen earned a reputation as one of the best teammates in the game across his 16-year career as a player, and we’ve greatly enjoyed the opportunity to get to know him over the past several weeks. Stephen has thought critically about the type of leader and manager he wants to be. His deep care for others, his ability to build meaningful relationships with those around him, and his open-mindedness and curiosity make him an ideal fit to lead our club moving forward. We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Stephen.”

While the Guardians are clearly pleased to have Vogt in the fold, it’s worth noting that all indications have pointed to longtime Brewers manager Craig Counsell as the club’s top choice for the role. Counsell is a free agent for the first time since becoming Milwaukee’s manager midway through the 2015 campaign and has received considerable interest from the Guardians, Mets and Brewers already this offseason. While the thinking throughout the game has largely been that the Guardians were a distant third among the three in terms of likelihood to land Counsell, a Wisconsin native who had a strong working relationship with new Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns during their time in Milwaukee, Jon Heyman of the New York Post makes clear that Cleveland’s interest in Counsell was real, noting that the club made a “serious, sincere run” at hiring the 53-year-old.

Beyond the possibility of hiring Counsell, it seems that Cleveland’s preference in replacing Francona may have been a rookie manager. The other candidates the Guardians reportedly interviewed for the role, including Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza, Cubs bench coach Andy Green and Dodgers first base coach Andy McCullough, all would have been first-time managers if hired for the role in Cleveland. Setting aside Counsell, it seems that Mendoza was the runner-up for Cleveland’s managerial gig. The 43-year-old was reportedly a favorite for the role along with Vogt in the event that Counsell declined and has also received interest from a variety of clubs with managerial vacancies this offseason, including the Mets and Padres.