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Longtime major league catcher Stephen Vogt has emerged as a serious candidate for the Cleveland Guardians‘ managerial job a little over a year after he retired from playing, sources told ESPN.

Vogt, 38, is currently a coach with the Seattle Mariners and had already interviewed for the San Francisco Giants‘ open managerial job, which could soon be filled by San Diego Padres manager Bob Melvin, who was granted permission to talk with the division rival. Vogt will have an in-person interview with the Guardians this week, sources said.

Following the retirement of manager Terry Francona after 11 seasons and six playoff appearances, Cleveland has considered a range of external candidates — Giants bullpen coach Craig Albernaz, New York Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza and Los Angeles Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough — and internal — field coordinator John McDonald, hitting coach Chris Valaika and farm director Rob Cerfolio.

Vogt didn’t debut in the major leagues until he was 27 but carved out a decade-long career because of his catching acumen and reputation as a dynamic clubhouse leader. After five years with the Oakland Athletics that included a pair of All-Star selections, Vogt bounced around, going from Milwaukee to San Francisco to Arizona to Atlanta before returning to Oakland, where he finished his career and hit a home run in his final at-bat.

Executives pegged Vogt as a future manager while he was still playing. His ability to connect with players — and loosen up a group with his sense of humor — combined with his knowledge of the game from playing catcher made him an intriguing candidate, especially for a job like Cleveland’s.

While the Guardians struggled to a 76-86 finish in the dreadful American League Central division, the arrival and immediate success of rookie pitchers Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams and Logan Allen furthered hope for a quick turnaround.

Cleveland’s offense scored the fourth-fewest runs in Major League Baseball this year, and the Guardians could trade one of their starting pitchers — potentially ace Shane Bieber or veteran Cal Quantrill — to address the deficiencies.

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Pirates ball-crusher Cruz accepts HR Derby invite

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Pirates ball-crusher Cruz accepts HR Derby invite

Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz accepted an invitation on Tuesday to compete in Monday’s Home Run Derby in Atlanta.

Cruz is the fifth player to commit to the competition, held one day before the All-Star Game. The others are Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves, Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, James Wood of the Washington Nationals and Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins.

Cruz, 26, is known for having a powerful bat and regularly delivers some of the hardest-hit homers in the sport. His home run May 25 at home against the Milwaukee Brewers had an exit velocity of 122.9 mph and was the hardest hit homer in the 10-year Statcast era.

But Cruz has never hit more than 21 in a season, and that was in 2024. He’s on track to set a new high this year and has 15 in 80 games.

Cruz has 55 career homers in 324 games with the Pirates.

Cruz will be the first Pittsburgh player to participate in the Derby since Josh Bell in 2019. Other Pirates to be part of the event were Bobby Bonilla (1990), Barry Bonds (1992), Jason Bay (2005), Andrew McCutchen (2012) and Pedro Alvarez (2013).

Overall, Cruz is batting just .203 this season but leads the National League with 28 steals.

Among the players to turn down an invite to the eight-player field are two-time champion Pete Alonso of the New York Mets, Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies and 2024 runner-up Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals.

Defending champion Teoscar Hernandez of the Los Angeles Dodgers recently turned down a spot as a consideration to nagging injuries.

Top power threats Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees and Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers also are expected to skip the event.

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Yanks moving Chisholm back to 2B after 3B stint

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Yanks moving Chisholm back to 2B after 3B stint

New York Yankees All-Star Jazz Chisholm Jr., after making 28 starts in a row at third base, is moving back to second base starting with Tuesday’s game against the Seattle Mariners, manager Aaron Boone said.

Boone confirmed the change on the “Talkin’ Yanks” podcast on Tuesday.

Chisholm, who is batting .245 with 15 home runs, 38 RBIs and 10 steals in 59 games, has recently been bothered by soreness in his right shoulder, which he said is an issue only on throws.

He said he prefers to play second base and prepared in the offseason to exclusively play in that spot before injuries played havoc with Boone’s lineup card, starting with Chisholm’s oblique injury in May.

Third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera went down with a season-ending ankle injury on May 12.

DJ LeMahieu manned second base while Chisholm was at third, but Boone has a better glove option in Oswald Peraza, a utility man with a stronger arm plus defensive skills across the infield.

LeMahieu, 36, is batting .266 with two home runs and 12 RBIs this season.

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White Sox reinstate OF Robert (hamstring) from IL

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White Sox reinstate OF Robert (hamstring) from IL

The Chicago White Sox reinstated outfielder Luis Robert Jr. (hamstring) from the 10-day injured list Tuesday.

Robert, 27, has struggled this season through career lows in batting average (.185), on-base percentage (.270) and slugging percentage (.313). Through 73 games, he has amassed just 16 extra-base hits (eight doubles, eight home runs) in 285 plate appearances.

He does have 22 stolen bases in 28 attempts and is just one shy of his career- high in steals.

In a corresponding move, the White Sox optioned infielder Tristan Gray to Triple-A Charlotte. Gray was just recalled before Monday night’s game but did not play.

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