There are a lot of firsts that Stephen Vogt can look forward to being a first-year manager. However, what he had to do on Tuesday afternoon and over the last few days probably wasn't at the very top of that list.
The Cleveland Guardians made several roster decisions which involved Johnathan Rodriguez, Jhonkensy Noel, Juan Brito, and Joey Cantillo being optioned to the minor leagues.
Vogt was pretty blunt about having to make these decisions and talk about it with players.
"It's never fun."
"I went through quite a few of them as a player, and just talking with people, and the biggest thing is just being honest and truthful. There's some really good players who will no longer be with us for the rest of camp."
The Guardians are a young team with a lot of players with several options left on their contracts. These types of decisions and conversations are ones that Vogt will have all season long and into the future.
However, he does make a very good point that he knows what's going through these players' heads. Vogt has sat in the same chair these young prospects are in. Being aware of how they are feeling is exactly what will make him an effective big league manager.
Even though these are the first series of cuts that Vogt is going to have to make, he's already decided on the perspective he wants to have with the players on the other end.
That mindset is about staying positive and hopeful.
"I'm really excited about the year they're going to have," said Vogt. "Obviously, it's never fun to hear the news you're no longer going to be at big league camp. But they're also productive, encouraging, and I think that's the approach I want to take. It's not 'goodbye, see you later.' It's 'keep working and do what you do."
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