Guardians Hire New Manager to Take Over for Retired Terry Francona

The two-time All-Star catcher just retired in 2022 after 10 seasons in MLB.

The Guardians will name recently retired catcher Stephen Vogt as the team’s next manager, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported on Monday.

Vogt will replace Terry Francona, who retired after the 2023 season following 11 seasons in Cleveland.

Terry Francona retired from baseball after spending the past 11 seasons as the manager of the Cleveland Guardians / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

This will be Vogt’s first experience as a manager since he retired from MLB in 2022. He worked as a bullpen and quality control coach for the Mariners this past season.

We believe in Stephen Vogt.

We have hired Stephen Vogt as the 45th manager in franchise history.#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/OA9WfVy0Vr

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) November 6, 2023

Passan reported that Vogt will be introduced as the Guardians’ new manager on Friday. The deal is reported to be three years.

“Stephen has thought critically about the type of leader and manager he wants to be,” Chris Antonetti, the president of baseball operations, said in a statement, via ESPN. “His deep care for others, his ability to build meaningful relationships with those around him, and his open-mindedness and curiosity make him an ideal fit to lead our club moving forward. We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Stephen.”

Vogt spent 10 years as a catcher in the league, earning All-Star bids in 2015 and ‘16 while playing on the Athletics, the team he also retired on in ‘22. He won a World Series title with the Braves in ‘21.

The Guardians posted a 76–86 record this season and missed the playoffs.