Stephen Vogt’s third season at the helm has turned into a strong case for his best work yet.
The Cleveland Guardians are 82-75 and sitting first in the AL Central, with a chance to clinch a playoff spot as soon as Wednesday if they win and the Texas Rangers lose. That alone keeps Vogt squarely in the mix for another American League Manager of the Year run. But the bigger argument is about how he’s gotten Cleveland here.
Analyst Ken Carman put it plainly when talking about Vogt’s season.
“Would you not say that this is the most impressive of the three years that [Stephen Vogt’s] been here? How could this year be not as impressive?
If you just leave it to baseball, you can make an argument that this [year] is more impressive. Last year was historic, but you lost three players at one time,” Carman said.
The Guardians have had to keep moving without a full deck. Jose Ramirez has put up below-average offensive numbers, with a 94 wRC+, and he also missed five weeks because of a hamate bone injury. The injury list has kept growing around him, too, with Chase DeLauter, Angel Martinez, Shawn Armstrong, Hunter Gaddis, and others all spending time on it.
There was one especially rough stretch on June 13, when DeLauter, Ramirez, and Martinez were all hurt on the same day and all landed on the IL. Even so, Cleveland kept grinding.
That grind has paid off lately. The Guardians have won 21 of their last 30 games, which has fueled another climb in the division standings, much like last season’s push.
Carman did note that 2025 was still the more dramatic comeback because Cleveland was further behind the Detroit Tigers and still won the division. But in 2026, Vogt has been asked to steer through more obstacles, and so far he and his club have handled them.
However you feel about his bullpen moves or the way he fills out a lineup card, the one thing that stands out is the bond he has built inside that clubhouse. His players trust him, and that matters.
In Other News...
Guardians Moved Within Reach Of October After A Win That Got Tense
The Guardians gave themselves another October boost with a fast start and enough steady work from the mound to hold off a late push. Angel Martnez, David Fry and Nathaniel Lowe all helped build the early cushion, and Parker Messick did his part in a five-inning start before the bullpen took over to finish the job.
Tim Herrin, Craig Yoho, Erik Sabrowski, Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith each had a hand in protecting the lead, keeping Cleveland in control even as the game tightened down the stretch. The win leaves the Guardians with a magic number of two to clinch a playoff spot, and depending on how the other results break, it could shrink to one before long. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Are Suddenly One Step Closer To A Clinch After Another Thriller
The Guardians kept finding ways to survive on September 22, outlasting the Red Sox 3-2 in another tight, late-September game that fit the tone of a team trying to finish the job. Nathaniel Lowe provided the decisive blow with a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning, while Parker Messick did enough in his start to keep Cleveland in position before the bullpen took over.
Cade Smith finished it off and reached 40 saves on the year, a notable marker for a club that has leaned on its late-inning arm all season. The bigger picture is even better for Cleveland: its magic number to clinch a playoff spot is down to two, and the Guardians still sit atop the AL Central as the calendar turns toward the final stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Vogts Late-Game Guardians Move Is Becoming A Real October Weapon
Travis Bazzanas rookie season has come with the usual growing pains, and for Stephen Vogt, that has meant getting creative when games tighten up late. The Guardians manager has turned to Angel Genao as a defensive replacement in key spots, using his versatility around the infield to help shore up a young roster when the margin for error shrinks. It is the sort of September adjustment contenders make when every clean inning and every sure-handed exchange starts to matter more.
Against the Red Sox, that move paid off in a big way, as Genao made a crucial defensive play that helped close out the win and trim Clevelands magic number to clinch a postseason berth. The contrast between the two young infielders has become part of the clubs late-game equation, with Genao offering the steadier glove right now while Bazzana continues to work through the challenges of his first full season. For a team trying to lock down October, those small swaps can carry outsized weight. [Read more 🡒]