What Stephen Vogt did in his first days of Cleveland Guardians spring training
GOODYEAR, Ariz. — The Guardians clubhouse is buzzing a day after Valentine's Day. And so begins the Stephen Vogt era as Guardians manager, one the club hopes will be a love affair.
The Guardians' first full squad workout of spring camp isn't for nearly a week, but the main clubhouse at the team's complex in Goodyear, Arizona, is just about full. Baseball has arrived. Players who might not have worked out together over the winter are reunited. New faces, like Scott Barlow, are meeting and greeting. Initial drills on the back fields are underway.
And, the Guardians' chess club now has a gallery. Thursday morning, a few rounds of matches were taking place at a table in the middle of the clubhouse, with several players crowding around Steven Kwan and others.
The chess club has also expanded. Kwan, the founding member, is still joined by Triston McKenzie, Will Brennan and others, as has been the case. Barlow, newly acquired in exchange for Enyel De Los Santos, has his member's jacket. Austin Hedges, back in Cleveland after a year in Pittsburgh and Texas, has returned. Tanner Bibee, Bo Naylor and Daniel Schneemann are working on their craft as members.
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Nearly all of the 60-plus players are already in camp, with a few still trickling in, though the first full squad workout isn't until Tuesday of next week.
Vogt already had a bit of an overwhelming task of meeting a couple hundred people in person this week. It also means a full clubhouse on what is the first official workout for pitchers and catchers.
"It speaks to the players first and foremost, I mean, their work ethic, their dedication to their craft, and they don't have to be here," Vogt said Thursday, his first presser with reporters at the team's facility. "[Assistant field coordinator] Larry Day has been scheduling spring training days for the last two months, and we've been joking that this week has been negative two day of spring training, negative day one, and then today's [Thursday] go day."
Vogt had briefly met or seen many players who will be in Guardians camp this spring during his time as a player. Vogt's playing career ended after the 2022 season.
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But this will be the first time he's seeing them — and, more importantly, evaluating them — from the manager's chair, and with a much more critical eye. All at once, he'll be hit with a mountain of new information, context and variables. The roughly six-week race to set the Opening Day roster truly began Thursday in Goodyear (and really, even a few days earlier).
"Generally speaking, the more perspectives we can get on any issue, whether that's player evaluations, decisions, the way we run camp, the more perspectives we can get, the better," Vogt said. "Now, at some point we have to bring those together to form decisions or figure out what we're going to do.
"That's one of the things I'm really excited about is that we have, I think, the combination of a great foundation that's in place with a strong culture and having done things a certain way. But then we also had this opportunity to learn and grow and get better from where we are and build on that foundation."
It can take time for anybody to feel truly comfortable in a different role, or at least used to the nuances of a new gig. For Vogt, he's transitioning from player to coach to manager within little more than a full calendar year. So as he walks the hallways, it'd be understandable if it takes time to get used to the new title.
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The Guardians will have several areas to sort out before they break camp and begin the 2024 season in Oakland. The home opener is set for April 8, and the Guardians finally have a first pitch time set.
Before then, they need to figure out their shortstop situation. There are multiple question marks in the outfield. The last couple bullpen spots remain open. And who knows what happens with Carlos Carrasco, but the team is glad to have "Cookie" back in camp as a non-roster invitee.
It's the first Guardians spring camp not run by Terry Francona in more than a decade. Vogt's plan for the next several weeks is written in pencil for a reason — he wants to rely on flexibility.
"I feel, to feel out my way of how I want go about doing this, being new and being open to suggestions and ideas," Vogt said. "I have a good picture of what I think it might look like, but that could change by the end of the day today, and I'm open to that.
"I don't know what I don't know, and I always want to keep learning and getting better every day. So that's the approach I'm taking."
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com. Read more about the Guardians at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/cleveland-guardians. Follow him on Twitter and Threads at @ByRyanLewis.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians manager Stephen Vogt takes over spring training in Goodyear
