Phillies’ managerial saga adds extra layer to Guardians’ appreciation of Stephen Vogt

Another day, another MLB firing. 

And another example of why Stephen Vogt continues to be the perfect man to lead the Guardians’ roster. 

After the Red Sox provided us with our first reminder of that over the weekend with their sudden firing of Alex Cora, the Phillies tossed their hat in the ring by firing manager Rob Thomson on Wednesday after a horrid 9-19 start to the season. 

Thompson firing didn’t just happen in a vacuum, either. Not only did Dave Dombrowski fire the winningest manager in Phillies history, but he courted Cora for the Phillies’ managerial role before firing Thomson. 

His advances were rebuffed, and now the Phillies are going to spend the rest of the season with Don Mattingly as their interim manager after he had previously said that he didn’t have the energy to manage anymore. 

He’s going to need every ounce of that energy now as the Phillies work to pull themselves out of a deep hole. While there’s still plenty of season left, they’re clearly behind the eight-ball. 

Meanwhile, the Guardians are led by one of the steadiest hands in baseball who seems to have a perfect understanding of how to navigate an MLB roster. 

Stephen Vogt’s stock continues to rise across MLB 

Not only has Vogt won back-to-back American League Manager of the Year awards, but he’s also helped the Guardians tread water this season. Even though Cleveland’s roster is more talented this year than it was last year thanks to the presence of Chase DeLauter and Travis Bazzana, it’s still a work-in-progress. 

The presence of José Ramírez obviously helps both in the diamond and the clubhouse, but anything he does is a continuation of the culture set by Vogt. 

The Phillies are in a bit of a different position. Not only do they have one of the oldest rosters in baseball, but they also have the same core that helped them reach the World Series in 2022. 

They’re trying to become the third team to win a World Series with four lineup regulars who are 33 or older. There’s not much room for development on the Phillies’ big league roster, which is one of the biggest reasons why they’ve looked so sluggish this season. 

On the other hand, Vogt’s had to win using a roster that’s been filled with too many developmental opportunities. From Angel Martínez learning to be an outfielder to Cade Smith being forced into the closer role, there have been multiple times where Vogt and the Guardians have had to make adjustments on the fly. 

It’s not a perfect system, but that’s baseball sometimes. There’s no doubt that Cora and Thomson’s firings raised the temperature for managers across MLB. Vogt isn’t one of them. 

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