José Ramírez and Stephen Vogt’s award nominations speak to Guardians’ strong core 

You can’t talk about the Cleveland Guardians without talking about José Ramírez and Stephen Vogt. 

On the diamond, Ramírez is the sun the Guardians revolve around thanks to his slugging ability in the box, defensive prowess on the infield dirt and overall hustle that defines his game. 

But in the dugout, Vogt is the galaxy it all exists in. He’s the architect of the lineup, a mid-game decision-maker and a leader that has figured out how to get the most out of every single player on the Guardians’ roster. 

On Monday, they both earned recognition for those contributions when Ramírez was announced an American League MVP finalist and Vogt was announced as a finalist for American League Manager of the year. 

While Ramírez seems destined to finish in third place for MVP behind Cal Raleigh and Aaron Judge, Vogt has a legitimate shot to repeat as AL Manager of the Year after winning the award last year. 

But regardless of where the duo finishes in the race for their respective awards, their nominations speak to the value they both bring to the Guardians. 

José Ramírez and Stephen Vogt are two of the best at what they do in baseball 

Both awards are voted upon by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Winners will be announced next week. 

If Vogt wins manager of the year, he’ll become the third manager to win the award in back-to-back years, joining Kevin Cash (who won in 2020 and ‘21 with the Rays) and Bobby Cox (who won in 2004 and ‘05 with the Braves). 

He’s going against Toronto’s John Schneider and Seattle’s Dan Wilson. Both of those managers won their respective divisions and ended up facing off against each other in the ALCS, with Schneider's Blue Jays advancing to the World Series. They ended up losing to the Dodgers in seven games. 

The Guardians won a second-straight division title under Vogt in 2025 and overcame a 15 1/2 game deficit in the second half to take home the American League Central crown. While Vogt’s coaching staff has taken a hit this offseason, he’s not going anywhere any time soon. 

And then there’s Ramírez. Even though he’s going to have his work cut out for him against Raleigh and Judge, he still put together an impressive season. He slashed 283/.360/.503 with 30 home runs, 85 RBI, 44 steals (a new career-high) while also being a Gold Glove finalist at third base. 

He was also nominated for the Silver Slugger Award at third base. If he wins, it’ll be the sixth time he’s taken home the award. 

The Guardians had one of the worst offenses in all of baseball, but they still managed to get into the postseason picture. Ramírez had a lot to do with that. This will mark the ninth season where he’s received MVP votes, and the third fourth time he’s finished in the top-three in MVP voting. The last time he did so came when he finished as the runner-up to José Abreu in 2020.