The Cleveland Guardians have hired former All-Star catcher Stephen Vogt to be their next manager, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported on Twitter.
Vogt, a 39-year old with no experience as a manager, won the job despite veteran coaches like Buck Showalter, Craig Counsell and Phil Nevin flooding the managerial market.
Vogt spent 10 seasons in The Show, primarily with the Oakland Athletics, but also had stops in Tampa Bay, Milwaukee, Arizona and San Francisco. He spent the 2023 season with the Seattle Mariners serving as their bullpen and quality control coach. (RELATED: Japanese Phenom Yoshinobu Yamamoto Is On His Way To America)
The Cleveland Guardians have hired Stephen Vogt as their manager. The two-time All-Star catcher, who has never managed before, will take over for future Hall of Famer Terry Francona.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 6, 2023
The Guardians were also interested in the Brewers’ Craig Counsell, who is apparently a hot commodity. Counsell is reported to make a decision on his future soon after multiple teams have sent him offers.
The Guardians did interview a number of other bench coaches with significantly more experience than Vogt. Cleveland interviewed San Francisco Giants bullpen coach Craig Albernaz, Chicago Cubs bench coach Andy Green and New York Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza, according to ESPN. Mendoza ultimately took the New York Mets’ open managerial job vacated by Showalter’s firing.
All of these more experienced candidates may have had too high of an asking price for a notoriously cheap Cleveland franchise, who now pivot to a younger guy in a rapidly changing sport. Taking over for future Hall of Famer Terry Francona, the Guardians are reportedly giving Vogt a three year deal, per ESPN.
As MLB brass implement new rules to improve pace of play, and front offices commit significantly more resources to analytical departments, expect this trend of younger hires to continue. It’s just another way for America’s pastime to maintain relevance into the future.