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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 Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Jets’ Scheifele misses G7 because of injury

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Jets' Scheifele misses G7 because of injury

Winnipeg forward Mark Scheifele did not play in Game 7 of the Jets’ first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the St. Louis Blues on Sunday due to an undisclosed injury, coach Scott Arniel said.

Arniel ruled out Scheifele following the team’s morning skate. He was hurt in Game 5 — playing only 8:05 in the first period before exiting — and then did not travel with the Jets to St. Louis for Game 6. Arniel previously had said Scheifele was a game-time decision for Game 7.

Scheifele, 32, skated in a track suit Saturday, and Arniel told reporters the veteran was feeling better than he had the day before. Scheifele, however, was not able to participate in the Jets’ on-ice session by Sunday, quickly indicating he would not be available for the game.

Winnipeg held a 2-0 lead in the series over St. Louis before the Blues stormed back with a pair of wins to tie it, 2-2. The home team has won each game in the best-of-seven series so far.

The Jets’ challenge in closing out St. Louis only increases without Scheifele. Winnipeg already has been dealing with the uneven play of goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, a significant storyline in the series to date. Hellebuyck was pulled in all three of his starts at St. Louis while giving up a combined 16 goals on 66 shots (.758 SV%). In Game 6, Hellebuyck allowed four goals in only 5 minutes, 23 seconds of the second period.

Hellebuyck was Winnipeg’s backbone during the regular season, earning a Hart Trophy and Vezina Trophy nomination for his impeccable year (.925 SV%, 2.00 GAA).

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Stars expect Robertson, Heiskanen back in semis

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Stars expect Robertson, Heiskanen back in semis

Stars coach Pete DeBoer expects to have leading goal scorer Jason Robertson and standout defenseman Miro Heiskanen available in the Western Conference semifinals after both missed Dallas’ first-round series win over the Colorado Avalanche.

Following their thrilling Game 7 comeback victory over the Avalanche on Saturday night, the Stars await the winner of Sunday night’s Game 7 between the Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues. If the Blues win, the Stars will have home-ice advantage in the best-of-seven series.

“I believe you’re going to see them both play in the second round, but I don’t know if it’s going to be Game 1 or Game 3 or Game 5,” DeBoer said after Saturday’s series clincher. “I consider them both day-to-day now, but there’s still some hurdles. It depends on when we start the series, how much time we have between now and Game 1. We’ll have a little better idea as we get closer.”

Robertson, 25, who posted 80 points (35 goals, 45 assists) in 82 games this season, suffered a lower-body injury in the regular-season finale April 16 and was considered week-to-week at the time.

Heiskanen hasn’t played since injuring his left knee in a Jan. 28 collision with Vegas Golden Knights forward Mark Stone. Initially expected to miss three to four months, the 25-year-old defenseman had surgery Feb. 4 and sat out the final 32 games of the regular season. In 50 games, he collected 25 points (five goals, 20 assists) and averaged 25:10 of ice time, which ranked fifth among NHL blueliners.

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Red Sox 1B Casas out for year after knee surgery

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Red Sox 1B Casas out for year after knee surgery

BOSTON — Boston Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas suffered a ruptured tendon in his left knee and is out for the remainder of the season, the team said.

The 25-year-old Casas ruptured his patellar tendon running to first on a slow roller up the line and fell awkwardly in Boston’s victory over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night. After laying on his back in pain — not moving the knee — he was carted off on a stretcher before being taken to a Boston hospital.

The team announced Sunday that he had surgery for a left patellar tendon repair at Massachusetts General Hospital. The surgery was performed by Dr. Eric Berkson.

“I talked to him last night,” chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said in a news conference on Saturday discussing the injury outside Boston’s clubhouse. “We exchanged text messages [Saturday]. We all care deeply about just his overall wellbeing.”

Manager Alex Cora said Casas worked hard during the offseason to play every day after missing a large amount of last year with torn cartilage in his rib cage.

“He did an outstanding job in the offseason to put himself in that situation. It didn’t start the way he wanted it to,” Cora said of Casas’ struggles. “He was going to play and play a lot. Now we’ve got to focus on the rehab after the surgery and hopefully get him back stronger than ever and ready to go next year.”

Casas batted just .182 with three homers and 11 RBIs, but Breslow said his loss will be felt, especially with the team’s lack of depth at the position.

“He certainly struggled through the first month of the season but that didn’t change what we believe his production was capable of being,” Breslow said. “It’s a big loss. In addition to what we think we were going to get on the offensive side, he was kind of like a stabilizing presence on the defensive side of the field — also a big personality and a big part of the clubhouse.”

During spring training, Casas talked about how his focus at the plate this season was being more relaxed.

“You really want it until you don’t,” he said, explaining his thoughts while standing at his locker. “Then you can’t want it that much.”

Now, he’ll have to focus on his recovery plan for next season.

Casas, a left-handed batter, was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday with infielder/outfielder Abraham Toro selected from Triple-A Worcester.

Cora said Toro — a switch-hitter — will split time at first along with Romy Gonzalez. who bats right-handed.

Breslow said the team might be exploring a long-term replacement.

“This is unfortunately an opportunity to explore what’s available,” he said. “We’ll look both internally and outside as well.”

Cora said there are no plans to move Rafael Devers, who was replaced at third by offseason free-agent acquisition Alex Bregman and moved to DH.

“We asked him to do something in spring training that in the beginning he didn’t agree with it and now he’s very comfortable doing what he’s doing,” Cora said. “Like I told you guys in spring training, he’s my DH.”

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