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Stephen Vogt

Guardians Manager Stephen Vogt Signed Multi-Year Extension

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When the Guardians originally hired Stephen Vogt as their new manager following the 2023 season, it was announced that he’d signed a three-year contract covering the 2024-26 seasons. Vogt, however, isn’t coming up on the final year of his contract as it might have seemed. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that the Guardians quietly signed Vogt to a multi-year extension following the 2024 campaign. The new contract was never announced, nor was it reported at the time.

Vogt, 41, has been named American League Manager of the Year in each of his two seasons as Cleveland’s skipper. Under his watch, the Guardians have twice enjoyed late-season rallies to force their way into the postseason. The ’24 Guardians won 88 games and topped the Tigers in the ALDS before falling to the Yankees in the ALCS. In 2025, Cleveland won 92 games but lost to the Tigers in a 2-1 Wild Card series defeat. Overall, Vogt is 180-143 as a big league manager.

It’s not entirely clear how long Vogt’s new contract runs, but he’s likely signed through at least the 2028 season now. He’ll continue overseeing a club that’s anchored by perennial MVP candidate José Ramirez and is on the cusp of welcoming a new wave of top prospects who could comprise the Guardians’ long-term core.

Outfield prospect Chase DeLauter made his big league debut in 2025. He’ll be joined by 2024 No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana at some point in 2026, and fellow top prospects like infielder Angel Genao and catcher Cooper Ingle could make their debuts this coming season as well. Bazzana and Ingle both reached Triple-A in 2025; Genao held his own as a 21-year-old in Double-A. Pitching prospect Khal Stephen, acquired from the Blue Jays in the deadline deal sending Shane Bieber to Toronto, dominated up through the Double-A level in ’25 and could be an option to join Vogt’s rotation in 2026.

Though the Guardians are unlikely to ever field a payroll that’s consistently in the top half of the league, the presence of Ramirez, some quality arms (e.g. Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee), looming young prospects and a perennially successful player development department should continue to put Vogt and the Guardians organization in position for success within the American League Central.

Pat Murphy, Stephen Vogt Win Manager Of The Year

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For the second consecutive season, Pat Murphy and Stephen Vogt have been named the Managers of the Year. Murphy received 27 of 30 first-place votes in the National League. The American League tally was closer, but Vogt picked up 17 first-place nods to keep his title.

Both skippers have won the award in their first two seasons on the job. They’ve each led a small-market franchise to a Central division title in consecutive seasons. Milwaukee won 97 games and played .500 or better ball in every month after starting the season 0-4 in the final few days of March. The Brewers coasted to another division title and held off the Phillies for the top seed in the Senior Circuit.

The Brewers seamlessly integrated a few quality rookies along the way. Caleb Durbin, Isaac Collins, Chad Patrick and Jacob Misiorowski all made strong contributions in their debut campaigns. Milwaukee also weathered a series of early-season rotation injuries behind Freddy Peralta. A mid-April trade for Quinn Priester paid massive dividends. The offense, meanwhile, trailed only the Yankees and Dodgers in scoring despite the free agent departure of Willy Adames.

Milwaukee knocked off the Cubs in a five-game Division Series. They were swept by the Dodgers in the NLCS and are still searching for their first trip to the Fall Classic since 1982. Awards voting takes place at the end of the regular season, so the postseason performance is irrelevant.

While the Brewers were well positioned to make the playoffs by the end of June, the Guardians got in via a late-season run that surely surprised even the Cleveland front office. The Guards were deadline sellers and seemed more or less finished once Emmanuel Clase was placed on administrative leave. A ten-game losing streak dropped them as low as eight games under .500 shortly before the All-Star Break, and they trailed Detroit by as much as 15.5 games in the division.

The Guards went 14-13 in August before reeling off a 20-7 record in September to steal a division title. They never led the AL Central by more than one game but had the edge when it mattered, finishing the season at 88-74. That included a 5-1 showing against the Tigers in the final two weeks of the regular season. Detroit wound up getting the last laugh in October, though, going into Cleveland and bouncing the Guards in the Wild Card Series.

Murphy appeared first or second on all but one ballot in the NL. Cincinnati’s Terry Francona and Philadelphia’s Rob Thomson also received at least one-first place vote. They finished second and third, respectively. Craig Counsell, Clayton McCullough, Torey Lovullo and Mike Shildt all received votes. Toronto’s John Schneider was a close-runner up in the Junior Circuit. He received 10 first-place votes. Seattle’s Dan Wilson (the other finalist) and Boston’s Alex Cora also had at least one first-place nod. A.J. Hinch and Joe Espada received votes.

Full vote tallies courtesy of the BBWAA. Images via Imagn Images.

Stephen Vogt, Pat Murphy Win Manager Of The Year

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The Baseball Writers Association of America announced that Guardians’ skipper Stephen Vogt and Brewers’ manager Pat Murphy were named the respective leagues’ Managers of the Year.

Both men took the award after leading their teams to Central division titles in year one. Vogt took the reins for the Guardians within a year and a half of retiring as a player. He spent one season on Seattle’s staff as bullpen coach before Cleveland tabbed him to replace future Hall of Famer Terry Francona. Vogt took over a team that had a much weaker rotation than the Guardians customarily sport, especially after Shane Bieber went down two starts into the season.

Expectations outside the organization generally weren’t very high. Cleveland nevertheless ran away with the AL Central. They built a lead as big as nine games by the end of June and didn’t look back. The Guardians cruised to a 92-win season, taking 16 more games than they had in 2023. They outscored opponents by 87 runs, largely on the strength of an elite bullpen. Vogt’s relief group easily led the majors with a 2.57 earned run average. The Guardians nabbed the #2 seed in the American League to secure a first-round bye.

Awards voting occurs before the start of the postseason, so the playoffs weren’t a factor in these honors. Cleveland held serve by defeating the upstart Tigers in the Division Series. They dropped a five-game set to the top-seeded Yankees in the Championship Series. While it didn’t end as hoped, it was a much more successful season than most people envisioned.

Vogt rather handily won the support of voters. He nabbed 27 of the 30 first-place selections. Kansas City’s Matt Quatraro and Detroit’s A.J. Hinch were the only others to receive a first-place vote in the America League. Quatraro and Hinch finished second and third, respectively. Joe Espada, Aaron Boone, Mark Kotsay, Rocco Baldelli and Alex Cora all appeared on at least one ballot.

The story was much the same in the National League. Murphy was in his first year at the helm. Like Vogt, he took over for one of the sport’s most respected managers. Craig Counsell departed to sign with the Cubs, leaving Murphy in charge of a dugout for the first time since an interim stint with the Padres in 2015. As with Cleveland, Milwaukee’s formerly vaunted rotation had been thinned by injury and trades.

The Brewers got success out of unheralded starters Tobias Myers and Colin Rea. Their bullpen was arguably the best in the National League. Despite losing Devin Williams for the first half of the season, Milwaukee relievers led the NL with a 3.11 ERA that trailed only Cleveland’s mark overall. The Brewers outscored opponents by 136 runs to post a 93-69 record. They essentially replicated their results from Counsell’s final season and grabbed their third NL Central title in four years.

Milwaukee’s year ended with a bitter defeat. Williams’ blown save against the Mets in the Wild Card round left them with a first-round exit for the second straight year. That’s not a factor in the voting, of course, and it’s not as if anyone would fault Murphy for turning to his star closer in that situation anyhow.

 

Murphy rather remarkably becomes the first Brewers’ manager to win the award. Counsell has surprisingly never won that honor. As with Vogt, Murphy took 27 of 30 first-place spots. San Diego’s Mike Shildt, New York’s Carlos Mendoza and Philadelphia’s Rob Thomson each picked up one first-place nod. Shildt and Mendoza placed second and third, respectively. Torey Lovullo landed in fourth overall, while Thomson rounded out the top five. Brian Snitker, Dave Roberts and Oli Marmol also received votes.

Full voter breakdowns courtesy of the BBWAA.

Guardians Hire Stephen Vogt As Manager

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The Guardians have their next manager. Cleveland announced the hiring of longtime MLB catcher Stephen Vogt on Monday afternoon. It’s reportedly a three-year contract running through the 2026 season.

Vogt, who recently celebrated his 39th birthday, made his big league debut for the Rays in 2012. He went on to play for five more organizations over his ten seasons in the majors, including six years with the A’s. During his time in Oakland, Vogt slashed .246/.308/.406 good for a roughly league average wRC+ of 98 and was named an All Star in both 2015 and 2016. He also played for the Brewers, Diamondbacks, Giants, and Braves throughout his big league career. Upon retiring from playing following the 2022 season, Vogt was hired by the Mariners to act as a bullpen and quality control coach in Seattle.

Vogt will now step into the shoes of the recently-retired Terry Francona as Guardians manager. It’s a remarkable achievement for the former catcher, who moves into the role just one year removed from his time as a player. As quick an ascent to the managerial chair as Vogt has had, it’s hardly an unexpected one. Vogt publicly voiced his managerial aspirations while he was still a player back in 2020, and he has long been regarded as up to the task among those in the game. Bob Melvin, who managed Vogt in Oakland and has since moved from the Padres to the Giants, noted even as Vogt was first retiring from professional play that his long-time player “definitely has a future in managing” while adding that his value in the clubhouse during his playing career was “immeasurable.”

Such a strong endorsement from a well-respect big league manager surely gives the Guardians assurance that he’ll be able to lead their roster into an uncertain 2024 campaign. After making a surprise run to the playoffs in 2022, Cleveland faced regression from many of their young players and injuries to key members of their pitching staff as they wound up finishing third in a weak AL Central with a 76-86 record. As the club looks to rebound next season, president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti was particularly effusive in his praise of the longtime catcher in a statement today.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Stephen and his family to Northeast Ohio and to name him the next manager of the Cleveland Guardians,” Antonetti said in the statement, “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. 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.”

While the Guardians are clearly pleased to have Vogt in the fold, it’s worth noting that all indications have pointed to longtime Brewers manager Craig Counsell as the club’s top choice for the role. Counsell is a free agent for the first time since becoming Milwaukee’s manager midway through the 2015 campaign, and has received considerable interest from each of the Guardians, Mets, and Brewers already this offseason. While the thinking throughout the game has largely been that the Guardians were a distant third among the three in terms of likelihood to land Counsell, a Wisconsin native who had a strong working relationship with new Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns during their time in Milwaukee, Jon Heyman of the New York Post makes clear that Cleveland’s interest in Counsell was real, noting that the club made a “serious, sincere run” at hiring the 53-year-old.

Beyond the possibility of hiring Counsell, it seems that Cleveland’s preference in replacing Francona may have been a rookie manager. Setting aside Counsell, it seems that Yankee bench coach Carlos Mendoza was the runner-up for Cleveland’s managerial gig. The 43-year-old was reportedly a favorite for the role along with Vogt in the event that Counsell declined, and has also received interest from a variety of clubs with managerial vacancies this offseason including the Mets and Padres.

Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com first reported the Guardians were hiring Vogt. Jeff Passan of ESPN reported it would be a three-year deal.

Guardians Interested In Stephen Vogt For Managerial Vacancy

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The Guardians are looking for a new manager, with Terry Francona recently stepping aside. Jeff Passan of ESPN reports that Stephen Vogt is “emerging as a serious candidate” for the job. Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com adds that Vogt will be interviewed for the gig.

Vogt, 39 next week, played in the big leagues from 2012 to 2022, primarily as a catcher. He announced just over a year ago that he was retiring as a player and speculation almost immediately turned to his destiny as a future manager, as Vogt himself voiced such aspirations back in 2020. Bob Melvin, who managed Vogt in Oakland for many years, said that Vogt “definitely has a future in managing” at the time of Vogt’s retirement.

In January of 2023, just a few months after retiring as a player, Vogt quickly landed his first coaching gig. The Mariners hired him to be quality control coach and bullpen coach, but he’s now getting interest for managerial gigs after just one season as a coach and barely a year removed from his playing career.

It was reported last week that Vogt was going to interview with the Giants for their managerial vacancy. But reporting from yesterday seems to suggest that Melvin, who spoke so highly of Vogt, has now become the favorite for that gig. Though that decision is not final, it seems Vogt might get a shot at a managing gig even if he’s blocked by Melvin in San Francisco, with today’s news suggesting he’s got a legitimate shot at the job in Cleveland.

The rumors around the managing job for the Guardians suggest they may be looking to pivot to a first-time manager this time around. Francona had plenty of experience before getting the job, having previously managed with the Phillies and Red Sox, and was the skipper in Cleveland for 11 seasons. But their publicly-known candidates to replace him would all be first-timers. That includes external candidates like Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough, Rangers associate manager Will Venable, Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza and Giants bullpen/catching coach Craig Albernaz, as well as internal candidates such as minor league field coordinator John McDonald, hitting coach Chris Valaika, and player development director Rob Cerfolio.

Quick Hits: Vogt, Giants, Braves, Phillips, Red Sox

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Mariners bullpen and quality control coach Stephen Vogt will interview with the Giants about their managerial vacancy this week, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.  The Giants have thus far interviewed only internal candidates about the manager’s job, yet Vogt isn’t exactly a true outsider, having played with the Giants during the 2019 season.  Vogt has plenty of other ties to the Bay Area, as he also played six seasons with the Athletics, and hails from Visalia, California (about a four-hour drive from San Francisco).

Vogt only retired from playing after the 2022 season, and his one season on the Mariners’ staff represents his only coaching experience.  That said, Vogt has been regarded as a future manager for years, so it isn’t surprising seeing him immediately pop up as part of a managerial search even though he is relatively lacking in coaching experience.  All of the candidates linked to the Giants thus far would also be first-time MLB skippers, so clearly the front office isn’t prioritizing a long resume when considering its next dugout hire.

Over 10 Major League seasons, Vogt appeared in 794 games with six different teams.  The big majority (528) of that action came with the A’s, but the Giants rank second on Vogt’s game list with 99 games played.  Vogt also briefly played with the Brewers in 2017, so speculatively speaking, it is possible the Brewers might give him some consideration if Craig Counsell doesn’t return as the manager in 2024.

Some more items from around the baseball world…

  • Some flame-throwing relief help figures to be a target for the Braves this winter, as Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes that only two bullpens in baseball threw fewer pitches of 96mph or higher than the Braves did in 2023.  Joe Jimenez and Pierce Johnson contributed a big chunk of the high-velocity pitches Atlanta did throw, yet both relievers will be free agents.  With Jesse Chavez also a free agent and Collin McHugh, Kirby Yates, and Brad Hand all on club or mutual options, “the situation allows the Braves to rebuild their bullpen, if they want,” Toscano writes.  Rookie Daysbel Hernandez could be an option on the high-velo front, as Atlanta thought enough of Hernandez’s potential to include him on their ALDS roster even though injury limited the righty to 3 2/3 innings in his first MLB season.
  • J.D. Martinez was known to be a Red Sox trade candidate heading into the 2022 deadline, and WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford reports that the Dodgers came “very close” to a deal to land the veteran slugger.  However, talks fell through when the Sox asked for Evan Phillips to also be included in the trade package.  At the time, Phillips was partway through a breakout 2022 season that saw him post a 1.14 ERA over 63 innings, and he went on to another outstanding year as the Dodgers’ first-choice closer in 2023 (2.05 ERA over 61 1/3 frames, with 24 saves).  Since the Dodgers pivoted to adding Joey Gallo at that deadline, it’s easy to wonder if Martinez could’ve or would’ve done more to upgrade the lineup, yet it’s hard to fault the team’s logic in wanting to retain Phillips.  As it turned out, L.A. got the best of both worlds in 2023, with Phillips closing games and Martinez delivering a big year at the plate after signing with the Dodgers as a free agent last offseason.

AL Notes: Verdugo, Astros, Mariners

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With the Red Sox front office seeing change at the top following the firing of chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, it’s hard to predict what sort of direction Boston might go in this offseason before they find a replacement for Bloom at the top of the club’s hierarchy. Still, there are some clues, most notably comments by team president and CEO Sam Kennedy that indicate the club hopes to sign some of their younger players to long-term extensions, with the likes of right-hander Brayan Bello, first baseman Triston Casas, and outfielders Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu earning particular mention.

While Duran had experience in the infield during his time in the minors, both he and Abreu are exclusively outfielders at the big league level. Between Boston’s apparent belief in both youngsters, the emergence of top prospect Ceddanne Rafaela as perhaps the club’s best defender in center field, and the presence of Masataka Yoshida on a long-term deal, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to see where outfielder Alex Verdugo fits in for the Red Sox. As noted by Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic, however, Verdugo spoke glowingly of the organization on the final day of the regular season.

“Hopefully I stay here with the Red Sox,” Verdugo said, “I love this organization. I have made it clear to them.” At the same time, Verdugo acknowledged the uncertainty of his position headed into the offseason before saying, “You just have to work hard… If it’s not this team, there’s 29 other teams.”

A free agent after the 2024 campaign, Verdugo would be an interesting trade candidate if dangled by the Red Sox this offseason. Verdugo finished the 2023 campaign on a rough note, slashing just .225/.268/.367 in the second half. Prior to that, however, he was a borderline All Star with a .290/.360/.457 slash line that was in line with the very best performances of his career. Taken together, it makes for a roughly league average production (98 wRC+) in 142 games this year. Verdugo also contributed positively with the glove, registering +1 Outs Above Average after posting -5 marks in each of the previous two seasons. That combination of solid defense in right field and a league average or better lefty bat should be intriguing to outfield-needy clubs, particularly given a fairly soft free agent class at the position.

More from the American League…

  • The Astros are set to begin their postseason push tomorrow with a five-game set against the Twins in the ALDS, but GM Dana Brown is already making plans for what comes next when the team’s season concludes. As noted by MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart, Brown, who joined the Astros as GM back in January, has made clear that promotions are inbound for other members of the club’s front office, saying that he’s “found out they have a lot of good people here.” Brown noted that “at least six” promotions are expected within the front office. While the specific personnel and role changes being discussed aren’t yet clear, it’s sensible for the Astros to promote from within as front offices around baseball begin asking their fellow organizations for permission to interview club employees for positions in their own organization. As previously mentioned, the Red Sox are looking for a new head of their baseball operations department, while the Mets could look to replace GM Billy Eppler in the near future after he stepped down from his role as David Stearns’s second in command yesterday.
  • With managerial vacancies in Anaheim, San Francisco, Cleveland, and Queens already announced, plenty of clubs are already making changes in the dugout this offseason. MLBNetwork’s Jon Morosi suggests that the Mariners could see several members of their coaching staff get significant attention for the open positions, listing bullpen coach Stephen Vogt, first base coach Kristopher Negron, and third base coach Manny Acta all as Seattle coaches who could be under consideration for one or more of the current vacancies. Acta is the only one of the three with previous managerial experience at the big league level; in addition to three years with the Nationals from 2007-2009, he stands as Cleveland’s most recent manager besides Terry Francona, who retired from managing following the 2023 campaign.

AL Notes: Mahomes, Haggerty, Vogt, Rays

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Patrick Mahomes’ ties to baseball are well known, as the NFL superstar is the son of longtime big league reliever Pat Mahomes.  However, the future Chiefs quarterback was himself a standout high school baseball player, and was even a 37th-round pick for the Tigers in the 2014 draft.  As Tigers scout Tim Grieve told 12Up’s Mark Powell in an interview in 2020, there was no doubt Mahomes was going to play college football at Texas Tech, but the Tigers figured “let’s be that team that started to build the relationship so that if he wants to play baseball 2-4 years down the road, we’ve got our foot in the door.”

Mahomes would likely have been picked in the third or fourth round of the MLB draft if he hadn’t been committed to football, and his father initially felt baseball might be his son’s sport.  “He was going to get drafted as an outfielder, and I have no doubt he would’ve made it and been successful,” the elder Mahomes told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale this week. “He loved baseball.  But when he went out for football, and saw all of the nuances and things you had to learn to be a quarterback, I think it really intrigued him to see what he could do.”  Speaking to Patrick Mahomes’ overall athletic ability, his godfather LaTroy Hawkins thought basketball would end up being his sport of choice.

Now that Mahomes has led the Chiefs to another Super Bowl title, the sports world can turn its attention to the start of Spring Training this week.  Since every season is baseball season here at MLBTR, here are some notes from around the American League…

  • “There are indications” that Mariners utilityman Sam Haggerty had to undergo surgery to fix a grade 2 adductor strain suffered at the end of last season, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times writes.  The team hasn’t officially confirmed Haggerty’s status, and GM Jerry Dipoto that Haggerty is “a little behind” in his offseason work.  However, Dipoto also noted that Haggerty has started full baseball activity and has “been hitting for quite some time.  So he’s in a good place.”  In his fourth MLB season, Haggerty got an extended look in a utility role with Seattle last season and delivered, hitting .256/.335/.403 (good for a 114 wRC+) over 201 plate appearances while playing in the field at second base and all three outfield spots.  Haggerty looks to continue to play a key role on the Mariners’ bench this season, especially since fellow utilityman Dylan Moore might be a little more impacted during camp while recovering from core surgery.
  • Stephen Vogt weighed two other “serious baseball job offers” before becoming the Mariners’ new bullpen and quality control coach in January.  As Vogt told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Brodie Brazil, “the Mariners were the best situation, the best offer, and being close to home — we did the best we could to make it not be a factor in our decision making.  The cherry on top is that I get to be with my family more in a season than I ever have.”  2022 was the last of Vogt’s 10 Major League seasons, and given that he has long been considered a future managerial candidate, it isn’t surprising that several teams were interested in being the first stop in Vogt’s post-playing career.
  • After a pretty quiet winter on the transactional front, the Rays are now viewing their slower offseason as an opportunity for their core players to enjoy some relatively rare stability, given how Tampa so often shuffles up its roster.  “Generally, we’re always trying to build that next year’s team to be as strong as we possibly can,” general manager Peter Bendix told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.  “And this year, that led to us having this continuity and banking on some of this continuity, allowing our young players to grow and develop together and see if we can kind of gain from the experience that they’ve had up until this point.”  The Rays did part ways with several players in trades, free agency, or non-tenders, yet most of those holes were filled internally.  As Topkin notes, Zach Eflin (signed to a three-year, $40MM contract) and Rule 5 Draft selection Kevin Kelly are the only new players on Tampa Bay’s 40-man roster.  Of course, there is still plenty of time in the offseason for the Rays to make some more additions, plus one of the team’s many non-roster invitees could win a job in Spring Training.

Mariners Add Stephen Vogt To Coaching Staff

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The Mariners have announced their coaching staff for 2023, with only a couple of changes compared to 2022. Trent Blank will move from his role as bullpen coach to a new title of major league coach and director of pitching strategy. Stephen Vogt, who just retired from playing a few months ago, will join the staff as quality control coach and take over Blank’s bullpen coach duties.

Vogt, 38, makes a quick transition to coaching after a lengthy playing career. Originally selected by the Rays in the 12th round of the 2007 draft, he went on to play 794 games in the majors for the Rays, A’s, Brewers, Giants, Diamondbacks and Braves. In September of 2022, while playing with Oakland, he announced that he would retire from playing once that season was completed.

The fact that he has now made a quick leap into coaching just a few months later shouldn’t come as a shock. Vogt has been open about his future managerial aspirations for some time, discussing the matter back in 2020. Vogt has also drawn praise about his managerial potential from current skippers. “Definitely has a future in managing,” were the words used by Bob Melvin, current Padres manager and formerly with the A’s, when speaking to Janie McAuley of the Associated Press last year. Current A’s manager Mark Kotsay also had praise for Vogt, speaking to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle in October. “I do think he’d be a good manager,” Kotsay said. “Big personality. Gamer. Intense. Driven. You could see all those traits. Catchers seem to make great managers. They see the game from a different perspective. One of my best friends, who’s manager of the Brewers, Craig Counsell, said Stephen is probably going to be the next manager of the Brewers.”

Though many are predicting that Vogt will wind up a bench boss eventually, it seems he’ll start by getting his feet wet in the Mariners’ bullpen in 2023.

Athletics Notes: Kemp, Vogt, Irvin, Puk

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The 2022 season has been a disappointing one for A’s second baseman/outfielder Tony Kemp, who’s followed up last year’s .279/.382/.418 slash with a flimsy .235/.308/.335 output through a career-high 554 plate appearances. Kemp, due a raise on his $2.25MM salary in what will be his final trip through the arbitration process, seemingly acknowledged his status as a potential trade or non-tender candidate, telling Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle that he hopes he’ll get the chance to rebound with Oakland next season.

“I want to be with this team,” Kemp said yesterday. “…going into my last year of arbitration I just think that being able to be part of this team would be something special.”

A’s skipper Mark Kotsay gave Kemp a vote of confidence, lauding the 30-year-old’s improved second-half play and touting him as a potential clubhouse leader for the 2023 team. Kemp, to his credit, is hitting .278/.343/.429 in the season’s second half, but the A’s have been focused on shedding payroll since last offseason began; time will tell whether Kemp becomes another step toward that end.

Kemp’s salary next season will by no means break the bank — likely falling shy of the $4MM range. As I noted when previewing Oakland’s upcoming offseason, the A’s don’t have a single dollar committed to next year’s roster at the moment, with Kemp, catcher Sean Murphy, outfielder Ramon Laureano, righty Paul Blackburn and perhaps lefties A.J. Puk and Cole Irvin (depending on this year’s Super Two cutoff) standing as the team’s notable arbitration-eligible players. (Murphy, who drew ample interest prior to the summer trade deadline, figures to generate plenty of interest again this offseason.)

One player who assuredly won’t be back — at least in a playing capacity — is veteran catcher Stephen Vogt, who announced late last month that he’d retire at season’s end. A ten-year veteran with a unique career arc and future managerial aspirations, Vogt seems far from done in with baseball as a whole. Whether the next steps for him are to pursue coaching/managing, front-office work or even a career in the broadcast booth remain to be determined, but the Chronicle’s John Shea spoke to Kotsay, GM David Forst and broadcaster Ken Korach about why Vogt would excel at any of the three.

Kotsay praised Vogt’s ability to have tough conversations with teammates — “telling guys things they need to hear, not things they want to hear” — and cited recent examples of Vogt doing just that. Beyond Kotsay’s own belief that Vogt has a future in managing, he noted to Shea that Brewers manager Craig Counsell, who managed Vogt in 2017, has remarked in the past that Vogt could eventually even be his successor in Milwaukee.

Forst, too, noted Vogt’s leadership traits and “ability to connect with everybody in the clubhouse,” adding that such traits are also important on the front-office side of the game. Forst compared Vogt’s skill set to that of former A’s outfielder and current Phillies general manager Sam Fuld, adding that Vogt will quite likely “be good at whatever he chooses to do.”

The 28-year-old Irvin name-checked Vogt after yesterday’s game, telling reporters that he’s “learned a lot” from Vogt, specifically with regard to his preparation for each start (link via Martin Gallegos of MLB.com). Irvin’s six shutout innings Tuesday dropped his ERA back under 4.00 — a personal goal of his after he’d struggled through a rough patch over the past month or so. The lefty voiced pride in making 30-plus starts in consecutive seasons and, after finishing this year with a career-high 181 innings, noted that reaching 200 frames will be a goal in 2023.

At this point, any A’s player with some success and a potential arbitration salary will draw his share of trade speculation, but Kotsay spoke glowingly of Irvin’s increased role as a leader on the pitching staff and spoke of him as an important piece to the 2023 roster: “I’m looking forward to seeing him again next year.”

Oakland’s acquisition of Irvin didn’t garner much attention at the time, but sending cash to the Phillies following the left-hander’s DFA in late January of 2021 has proven to be one of the best quiet acquisitions the A’s have made in recent years. Over the past two seasons, Irvin has started 62 games and pitched to a combined 4.11 ERA in 359 1/3 innings. The 2022 season saw Irvin make slight improvements in his strikeout rate, walk rate, swinging-strike rate, called-strike rate and opponents’ chase rate over last year’s levels.

Irvin will head into the offseason with two years, 120 days (2.120) of Major League service time. That’ll put him right on the Super Two bubble, potentially setting him up for four trips through the arbitration process, rather than the standard three. The Super Two cutoffs over the last three seasons have been 2.116, 2.125 and 2.115, respectively, so Irvin would’ve made the cut in two of the three seasons. The 27-year-old Puk, who’s saved four games and piled up 20 holds while pitching to a 3.12 ERA in 66 1/3 innings of relief, is in a similar boat with 2.124 years of service time.

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