The season begins for the Cleveland Guardians this week as they open up in Oakland on Thursday evening against the Athletics. After more than a decade of stability, this season marks the beginning of a new era as Terry Francona is no longer pulling the strings in the dugout. The longtime skipper stepped aside after last season and the organization hired Stephen Vogt in November.
Here are three things to know about the team before the regular season begins.
New Manager Stephen Vogt
Vogt hasn’t been a manager before, so this season will not only be a new experience for fans, but it will be a new experience for him, as well. Last season, Vogt was the bullpen and quality control coach with the Seattle Mariners. That was his first year removed from a career that lasted 10 seasons in the major leagues. How Vogt handles the day-to-day grind of being a manager will be something to watch for throughout this season. There are sure to be growing pains, as there are whenever someone is in a new job for the first time. Filling in the lineup card on a daily basis will be new, as will making the decisions of when to change pitchers. The biggest adjustment may be how to handle the clubhouse. In baseball, managing can sometimes be less about the tactical decision making during the games and more about everything that happens behind closed doors before first pitch.
It cannot be easy to be in a position of replacing a legend, as Vogt is. Francona was the manager in Cleveland nearly the entire time Vogt was an active big leaguer. Francona left the dugout as the franchise’s all-time leader in wins and helped to nearly win a World Series in Cleveland. Trying to live up to that is difficult. If Vogt is to be successful in this post, it’s important he be himself and not try to emulate Francona, or anyone else.
Some Old Friends and Some New Faces
The roster for the Guardians is a mix of old and new.
Third baseman Jose Ramirez will still anchor the lineup, first baseman Josh Naylor, second baseman Andres Gimenez and closer Emmanuel Clase have spent a sneaky amount of time in Cleveland, pitcher Shane Bieber will make his fifth consecutive Opening Day start and pitcher Carlos Carrasco is back on the team after spending the last three seasons with the New York Mets.
There are other faces on the roster that have spent time with the Guardians last season, but still qualify as guys you might not know. The battle for the starting shortstop position is still ongoing between Brayan Rocchio and Gabriel Arias, although it appears as if Rocchio has pulled ahead. The everyday catching responsibilities should belong to Bo Naylor, who is entering what should be his first full season in the big leagues.
Outside Projections
This season isn’t supposed to be one to remember for the Guardians. Outlets nationally aren’t expecting Cleveland to be a playoff team this year. Baseball Prospectus and CBS Sports were on the optimistic end of the spectrum for the Guardians, predicting the team to finish 83-79. FanGraphs was the least optimistic about the team, projecting a 79-83 record this season. Each of the five projections we viewed had the team finishing in second place in the American League Central Division.
This season, second place in what’s considered the weakest division in baseball would be fine. It shouldn’t be considered a success by any stretch, but calling it a failure would be unfair, too. This is a Guardians team that should have some bright days ahead considering the depth of young talent on the way, but things might not all come together this year. Highly touted prospects such as Kyle Manzardo and Chase DeLauter will begin the season in the minor leagues, but very well could be on the Guardians roster by time the season ends, if not sooner.