Manager Stephen Vogt Staying With Guardians

Although Guardians skipper Stephen Vogt has close ties to the state of Washington, he is not interested in the Mariners’ managerial vacancy. Vogt made it clear on Thursday that he is sticking with the Guardians.

“I’ll be in Cleveland,” Vogt told Tim Stebbins of MLB.com and other reporters. “I’m here. I’m coming back.” 

Next season will be Vogt’s fourth in Cleveland, which won the American League Central in each of his first three years. After earning AL Manager of the Year honors from 2024-25, Vogt is a finalist again this fall. The former major league catcher guided the Guards to the ALCS for the second time in 2026, but the team is now in the early stages of the offseason after losing in six games to the Rays. While Cleveland took two of the first three, Tampa Bay then won three straight by a combined score of 17-7. It was a bitter ending for Cleveland, though it’s impressive that the club got that far after opening the season with a league-low payroll in the neighborhood of $75MM.

Teams in need of a manager would have coveted Vogt had he been a free agent this offseason, but he signed a multiyear extension after the 2024 campaign. While it’s unknown how many years are left on the contract, Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti told Zack Meisel of The Athletic he has “every expectation that Vogt is going to manage here for a really long time.”

Despite the 41-year-old Vogt’s contract status, there has been recent speculation that the manager-less Mariners could try to acquire him from the Guardians in a rare trade for a skipper. Antonetti told Meisel he is aware of the talk, but he revealed the Mariners have not called about Vogt. Prior to joining the Guardians, Vogt was the Mariners’ bullpen coach in 2023. He is also married to a Washington native, and they and their kids live in Olympia, but Vogt is content to continue in his post with the Guardians.

“Our home and our family is the most sacred thing to us,” Vogt said (via Meisel). “We love the Cleveland area. We love our summer here. I love living here. I just wish I could be in two places at once.”

With Vogt locked in, he and Antonetti are expecting Carl Willis and the rest of the coaching staff to return next year, per Meisel. Willis, who was initially with the organization from 2003-09, returned for a second stint as its pitching coach in October 2017. Set to turn 66 in December, it appears Willis will coach for at least one more year. The Guardians recorded the majors’ eighth-best ERA on Willis’ watch in 2026. Right-hander Gavin Williams led the AL with 248 strikeouts, lefty Parker Messick became an AL Rookie of the Year contender, and closer Cade Smith ran roughshod over opposing hitters for the third season in a row.