Guardians hire former All-Star catcher Stephen Vogt as their new manager, gets 3-year contract

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Guardians replaced the winningest manager in club history with one who has never filled out a lineup card.

After an extensive search that began with over 45 candidates, Cleveland chose Stephen Vogt, a journeyman catcher with no managerial experience, to take over for Terry Francona, the team’s beloved manager for 11 seasons who recently stepped down.

Vogt, who only retired as a player in 2022 before spending a season as Seattle’s bullpen coach, is getting a three-year contract with the Guardians.

Although the 39-year-old Vogt has never led a club, he’s long aspired to be a manager. He checked every box for the Guardians, who were not only charmed by Vogt’s outgoing personality but impressed by his varied baseball background.

The Guardians spoke to numerous qualified candidates, including Craig Counsell, who stunningly left Milwaukee to take over the Chicago Cubs on Monday. And while Cleveland didn’t land the biggest free agent manager on the market, they believe Vogt will be a perfect fit.

It’s not clear who will be on Vogt’s staff, but the Guardians expect to have continuity and will bring back several coaches, including Sandy Alomar Jr.

A two-time All-Star, Vogt played for six teams in 10 seasons before retiring with Oakland in 2022. He homered in his final at-bat for the Athletics, a personal walk-off to a career that had numerous high and lows.

The Guardians will introduce Vogt at a press conference on Friday.

“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,” said Chris Antonetti, the Guardians’ president of baseball operations.

“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.”

The Guardians are beginning a new era following the departure of Francona, who won 921 games with Cleveland and led the club to the playoffs six times and the World Series in 2016.

Vogt had an initial meeting in mid-October with the Guardians, who were so impressed that they immediately scheduled a second, in-person visit at Progressive Field.

One of the things that stood out about Vogt to Cleveland’s front office was his breadth in the game. He lived it all as a player — making his big-league debut at 27, overcoming a major injury, getting cut and traded, waiting almost 15 months to get his first hit.