Cleveland Guardians Manager Still Mulling ALDS Playoff Roster

Stephen Vogt said the Cleveland Guardians are "considering a lot of people" for the playoff roster.

May 26, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Cleveland Guardians second base Andres Gimenez (0) outfielder Tyler Freeman (2) celebrate the victory against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Stephen Vogt and the front office have some tough decisions to make in the coming days as they narrow down their postseason roster for the ALDS. The Cleveland Guardians are lucky enough to have a bye in the ALWS round, which gives them a little extra time to figure out a strategy and game plan.

Vogt spoke to the media on Tuesday and gave a little insight on how he'll view lineup construction for the playoffs. From the beginning of the season, he said that his goal when creating lineups is to beat the opposing team's starting pitcher. Even though the Guardians are playing in the postseason, that objective has remained unchanged.

"I think going into it, we're going to keep our cadence of how we've gone all year, and that's we're going to construct the lineup to beat the starter," said Vogt. "It might look a little bit different at times, but you're gonna see a lot of the similarities you've seen throughout the regular season. It's who we are."

The topic of lineup construction perfectly leads into the discussion of the playoff roster, which Vogt and the front office are still pondering.

Sep 16, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt (12) calls to the bullpen during the third inning against the Minnesota Twins at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Cleveland's manager revealed on Tuesday that the team has not finalized a postseason roster yet. Vogt didn't get into names, but he did say they are still keeping in mind a lot of different players.

"Yeah, I mean, we're considering a lot of people. We've got a good group that was here today, some pitchers and some position players yesterday. So we've got a lot of our roster here and some Columbus guys. So, there's definitely - we can go in many different directions with the roster and that's the versatility of our organization."

The typical starting lineup is likely to remain unchanged. The bench and utility players could see some change before Game 1 on Saturday.

Will Jhonkensy Noel, Angel Martinez, and Daniel Schneemann all remain on the big league roster for the playoffs? Have Myles Straw, Tyler Freeman, or Gabriel Arias done enough at Triple-A to warrant a postseason appearance?

These are questions we'll have to wait to get the answers to.