Cleveland Baseball Insider

Guardians May Hire New Manager Sooner Than Later

It may take just a matter of weeks for Cleveland to determine who its next manager will be.

Logan Potosky

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After Cleveland Guardians President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti and team manager Terry Francona jointly announced this past Tuesday that Francona was stepping down, the Guardians immediately began the search for his replacement.

Whomever Francona’s successor is will have some very tough shoes to fill. 

During his tenure as Cleveland’s manager, he set club records for seasons managed (11), wins (921), and winning seasons (9), while leading Cleveland to four division titles and an AL pennant in 2016.

Oct 1, 2023; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona (77) in the dugout before the game against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park / © Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

While Francona is a tough act to follow, Cleveland’s next manager may be in place sooner than some may think.

On Monday, in an interview on ESPN Cleveland’s The Really Big Show, Guardians' dugout reporter Andre Knott discussed when the club’s next manager might be hired.

“I think they want to have something before the end of the World Series,” Knott said yesterday. “The sooner, the better’s the one word I’ve heard.”

This line of thinking is due to many additional decisions that need to be made for the team.

“You need somebody to come in here pretty quick and figure out what you do with Shane Bieber,” Knott said. “Figure out, ‘Do you need two new arms in the bullpen or just one?’ Figure out, ‘How do you fix this offense?’ Figure out, ‘Sandy Alomar’s going to be on the staff, but who else are we going to keep on the staff?’”

Besides Francona, Cleveland has had three full-time managers since 2000. 

Charlie Manuel was introduced on November 1st, 1999. Then, Eric Wedge was introduced on October 29th, 2002. Finally, Manny Acta was introduced on October 26th, 2009.

Based on these previous introduction dates, and Knott’s thoughts shared on Monday, the Guardians may name their next manager in a matter of weeks.

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Logan Potosky
LOGAN POTOSKY

Logan Potosky is an aspiring play-by-play sports broadcaster who, to date, has called approximately 350+ hours of professional, college, and high school sporting events. He is currently the Play-by-Play Broadcaster for the Lake County Captains, the High-A Affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. He graduated from John Carroll University in May of 2023 with a degree in Communication, with a concentration in Digital Media, and a minor in Entrepreneurship.

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