CLEVELAND — Stephen Vogt lingered in the dugout after the season’s final out, letting the moment fill him with both pain and purpose.
As the New York Yankees embraced on the field following their Game 5 win that clinched their first AL pennant since 2009 on Saturday night, Vogt, who in his first season as a major league manager took the Cleveland Guardians deeper into the postseason than anyone thought possible, watched.
He made himself a promise.
“I want it next year and it’s never going to stop driving me,” Vogt said.
With the ALCS loss still stinging three days afterward, Vogt and Cleveland’s top front office executives met media members on Tuesday to rehash the club’s remarkable run in 2024 and discuss their plans to try and do it again.
There were plenty of names bandied about as the team looked ahead. What is the future of All-Star first baseman Josh Naylor? What about 2020 Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber?
There will be time for those decisions. But on Tuesday, it was more about assessing what was a rebuilding year that turned out to be so much more.
Forecast to go .500 with one of baseball’s youngest rosters, the Guardians took over first place in April and took off.
They won 92 games to capture the AL Central, suddenly MLB’s most competitive division. The Guardians then rallied from a 2-1 deficit in the division series to advance past Detroit before pushing the star-studded Yankees as hard as they could — winning a magical Game 3 at home on a walk-off homer — before falling three wins shy of the World Series.
While the disappointment is real, so is the fact that Guardians grew.
“We know we have areas to improve, and we learned a lot about our players,” Vogt said. “We learned a lot about our staff. I learned a lot about how to do this job and navigating through the first season the way we did. We checked about every box you could other than winning the last game of the year and that’s what the goal is.”
At this time a year ago, the club was headed into a frightening unknown. Terry Francona, the winningest manager in club history and a certain Hall of Famer, had stepped down after 11 seasons, leaving a massive void.
Enter Vogt, who more than filled it.
The journeyman catcher was hired by the Guardians despite not having ever managed a game — at any level. He arrived with a reputation for being studious, hard-working and a great teammate known for his hilarious comical impersonations.
He nailed being a manager.
“We had really high expectations,” said Chris Antonetti, the club’s president of baseball operations. “Stephen blew all of those out of the water. What he has been able to contribute as someone that’s new to the job, it’s a marvel to me. You could not expect someone who’s done what he’s done in the first year in any position and be as successful as he’s been.”
Antonetti noted how from the time he arrived, Vogt connected with his players personally and professionally. He gave them support and space, and he was able to get more out of them than they may have thought was possible.
Following the tough Game 5 loss in extra innings, Antonetti said there was a parade of players outside Vogt’s office waiting to give him a hug and their thanks.
“It was so powerful to see,” Antonetti said.
Vogt wasn’t perfect. He made his share of mistakes, and arguably a major one in Cleveland’s last game when he elected to have Tanner Bibee pitch to Giancarlo Stanton in the sixth inning nursing a 2-0 lead with a base open, and the Yankees’ slugger hit a game-tying, two-run homer.
Vogt said he’s walking away without any regrets.
“When it works, it works,” he said. “And when it doesn’t, you are wrong. That’s just the way that this job works. I learned that this year, so I wouldn’t go back and change anything.”
Maybe except the way it ended.
BYE BYE BIEBER?
Bieber’s 2024 season ended after two starts. It was also the likely ending to his career with Cleveland. He will be a free agent this winter, and the right-hander is expected to sign elsewhere as he comes back after Tommy John surgery. Bieber was drafted by Cleveland and went 62-32 in 134 starts.
If Bieber has pitched his last game for the Guardians, Antonetti said he has left a legacy.
“He sets the standard for how guys go about their work, not only when they’re competing but in between starts,” he said. “Hopefully he will be here to continue that in person. But if not, his impact here will be felt for a long time.”
FIRST THINGS FIRST
Because he’s only under contractual control for another season, Naylor has been mentioned in trade speculation for months.
It’s likely the Guardians will be approached about Naylor — that happens with most players — but the team doesn’t appear to be in any hurry to part with the power hitter.
“Our expectation is Josh will be an anchor on our team in 2025 and who knows, hopefully beyond that,” Antonetti said. “At the same time, he’s a really good player and I imagine there will be other teams that will call us and ask about a variety of guys and that’s naturally what happens over the course of the winter.
“But our hope and expectation is that he’ll be with us on opening day next year.”
The days leading up to the 2025 NHL trade deadline were a furious final sprint as contenders looked to stock up for a postseason run while rebuilding clubs added prospects and draft capital.
After the overnight Brock Nelson blockbuster Thursday, Friday lived up to expectations, with Mikko Rantanen, Brad Marchand and other high-profile players finishing the day on different teams than they started with. All told, NHL teams made 24 trades on deadline day involving 47 players.
Which teams and players won the day? Who might not feel as well about the situation after trade season? Reporters Ryan S. Clark, Kristen Shilton and Greg Wyshynski identify the biggest winners and losers of the 2025 NHL trade deadline:
There are some who saw what the Carolina Hurricanes did at the trade deadline — or perhaps failed to do after they traded Mikko Rantanen — and believe they’re cooked when it comes to the Stanley Cup playoffs. However, based on the projections from Stathletes, the Canes remain the team with the highest chances of winning the Cup, at 16.7%.
Standing before them on Sunday are the Winnipeg Jets (5 p.m. ET, ESPN+). The Jets had a relatively quiet deadline, adding Luke Schenn and Brandon Tanev, though sometimes these additions are the types of small tweaks that can push a contender over the edge. As it stands, the Jets enter their showdown against the Canes with the sixth-highest Cup chances, at 8.7%.
Carolina has made two trips to the Cup Final: a loss to the Detroit Red Wings in 2002 and a win over the Edmonton Oilers in 2006. The Canes have reached the conference finals three times since (2009, 2019, 2023). Winnipeg has yet to make the Cup Final, and was defeated 4-1 in the 2018 Western Conference finals by the Vegas Golden Knights in the club’s lone trip to the penultimate stage.
Both clubs are due. Will this be their year?
There is a lot of runway left until the final day of the season on April 17, and we’ll help you keep track of it all here on the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide detail on all the playoff races — along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.
Points: 43 Regulation wins: 12 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 17 Points pace: 54.3 Next game: vs. NSH (Tuesday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 8
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the draw for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process can be found here. Sitting No. 1 on the draft board for this summer is Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman for the OHL’s Erie Otters.
Hintz extended his stick toward Henrique, whose wrist shot sent the puck under Hintz’s visor during his club’s 5-4 loss to the Oilers. He was on the ice, with his face in a towel, as the team’s medical staff assessed him and helped him skate toward the dressing room.
After the loss, Dallas coach Peter DeBoer said Hintz was at a local hospital, receiving tests. The coach added that the initial report was fairly optimistic for Hintz, 28, who has 25 goals and 52 points.
“Everyone’s optimistic that it’s not ‘serious, serious,'” DeBoer said. “But we won’t know until we get testing.”
The short-handed Stars rallied from a 5-1 deficit before eventually losing. Trade deadline acquisition Mikko Rantanen had a goal and an assist in his debut for Dallas, which had its four-game winning streak stopped. Wyatt Johnston, Jamie Benn and Matt Dumba also scored for the Stars.