Guardians News: Stephen Vogt Manager of the Year update, Tarik Skubal has NL suitor, White Sox rotation 

While we have yet to hear from any member of the Guardians’ front office at the General Manager Meetings, there’s still been plenty of news tidbits trickling out of the ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. 

Normally the GM Meetings serve as a kind of precursor for the much more active Winter Meetings, this year’s offseason equation should be different thanks to the impending lockout, so news should start coming out fast and steady as the week goes on. But here’s how what we know now could impact the Guardians in 2027. 

Stephen Vogt finished fourth in American League Manager of the Year voting 

For the first time in his managerial career, this year won’t end with Stephen Vogt winning American League Manager of the Year. That said, you don’t need to look far down the list of finalists to see his name. 

Vogt ended up coming in fourth in voting this year behind White Sox manager Will Venable (first), Rays manager Kevin Cash (second) and Red Sox manager Chad Tracy (third). 

Although this year’s Guardians season wasn’t as exciting as last season’s incredible comeback in the American League Central, the Guardians still fought to their third straight division title while navigating a variety of injuries and underperformance from José Ramírez. 

Vogt’s one of baseball’s best managers, and he’s already made it known he's not going anywhere any time soon. 

Tarik Skubal has meetings scheduled with the Dodgers and Mets 

While the Guardians aren’t going to sign Tarik Skual, they can take some solace in the early buzz surrounding his potential free agency suitors, as Skubal has meetings set next week with the Dodgers and Mets. Although Skubal’s unlikely to sign a contract at either of those meetings, the fact he’s meeting with teams already shows that there may be some truth to the rumors that he could sign before the Dec. 1 lockout. 

The Guardians spent parts of seven seasons getting a first-hand look at how good Skubal can be when he’s at his best, so any chance for him to sign somewhere far away from Cleveland would be a clear win for the Guardians. 

Grant Taylor is getting moving to the White Sox rotation 

Speaking of the White Sox, Chicago general manager Chris Getz did a hit with MLB Network Radio earlier today and confirmed that Chicago is going to be moving pitcher Grant Taylor to their rotation for 2027. 

Taylor has some clear skill (which we saw in last month’s American League Division Series), but his shift to the bullpen makes Chicago’s mid-season trade for Luis Castillo look even worse considering they’re on the hook for his $25 million contract for next season. 

The White Sox have some good depth arms in Sean Burke, David Martin and others, but Taylor has a chance to become an ace given he looked good in multi-inning efforts last year out of the bullpen

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