CLEVELAND, Ohio — Stephen Vogt is about to discover what it’s like to manage without a safety net

The Guardians manager, heading into his third season, will do so without his two most trusted advisors as associate manager Craig Albernaz is set to be named Baltimore Orioles’ manager and bench coach Kai Correa departed for a bench coach role with the New York Mets.

This leadership exodus creates perhaps the biggest challenge of Vogt’s young managerial career – proving he can lead without the support system that helped guide his first two seasons.

“What Stephen Vogt is not going to have heading into the 2026 season are basically his two main sounding boards, the two voices, the two guys that helped him really make decisions and compose lineups and impact games from the bench,” explained Joe Noga on the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast, setting up the significant void Vogt now faces.

The relationship between Vogt and Albernaz was particularly close. When Vogt was introduced as Guardians manager, Albernaz and his entire family sat in the front row. Both families knew each other well, with their connection dating back to their early careers in the Tampa Bay organization.

This personal and professional dynamic created a seamless working relationship that played a crucial role in Cleveland’s remarkable 2025 season, when they overcame a 15½ game deficit to win the AL Central.

Paul Hoynes emphasized the enormity of the transition: “It’s going to be really different for him. Albernaz was his bench coach the first year and basically the same role this year. Correa right next to him in the dugout as well. The big thing is hiring a new bench coach. Who does Vogt feel comfortable standing next to in the dugout bouncing ideas off of during crunch time?”

The metaphor Noga used perfectly captures Vogt’s new reality: “Working without a net like a trapeze artist. That’s what Vogt’s going to be as he moves forward.”

This transition could reshape Vogt’s managerial approach. Without Albernaz’s unmistakable East Coast energy and Correa’s tactical acumen, Vogt must adapt his style and find new voices to trust during critical moments.

While this presents a challenge, it also offers Vogt an opportunity to establish his own distinct identity as a manager. As Hoynes noted, “If you’re Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff, you want to give Vogt a little bit of freedom here to pick and choose.”

That freedom could mean promoting from within – perhaps outfield coach J.T. Maguire, whom Vogt has praised as a rising star – or bringing in someone from Vogt’s network of relationships built during his playing career.

The timing of this transition is particularly interesting after Cleveland’s 2025 success. As Noga observed, the coaching staff’s leadership was essential during the team’s darkest moments: “They needed Craig Albernaz and Steven Vogt’s leadership to get back from that 15½-game deficit.”

Can Vogt maintain that resilience and energy without his primary confidants? The 2026 season will reveal whether the young manager has truly internalized the lessons from his first two years or if he was more dependent on his lieutenants than anyone realized.

One certainty: Stephen Vogt’s managerial abilities will face their most revealing test yet.

Podcast transcript

Joe Noga: Welcome back to the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast. I’m Joe Noga, joined by Paul Hoynes. Hoynsie, lots of news over the weekend regarding the Guardians and their coaching staff. We find out that Craig Alvarez, the associate manager is the leading candidate and in fact has according to some reports, already done deal as the next Orioles manager. So Alvaren as going to be a little bit closer to home. He makes his, his home in Philadelphia in the off season. He’s originally from Massachusetts so he’s heading back to the East Coast. He’ll take over a very attractive position with a young core there in Baltimore. We also find out that Carl Willis, the pitching coach, the architect, the mastermind behind Cleveland’s, you know, rebuild of their rotation and the sort of the, one of the big reasons why they were able to rally from a 15 and a half game deficit in the American League Central to win the division this year. Carl Willis will be back next year as the pitching coach to continue the work that he’s done with that young rotation. So two big pieces of coaching staff news this weekend. Let’s start with Albert and really let’s start with Stephen Vogt because you know, what Stephen Vogt is not going to have heading into the 2026 season are basically his two main sounding boards, the two voices, the two guys that, that helped him really make decisions and compose lineups and you know, impact games from the bench and Craig Alvarenez and Kai Correa who took a bench coach position with the mets. How is 2026 going to be different for Stephen Vogt?

Paul Hoynes: Joe? I think it’s going to be really different for him. You know, Alberna’s was his bench coach the first year and basically you know, the same, had the same role this year. Correa, you right next to him in the dugout as well. You know, he ran all the, you know, the, the you know, pregame drills infield and outfield, you know, set up spring training. So yeah, there’s, there’s going to be some changes in the coaching staff. They’re going to have to, you know, move some people around I would think. You know the big thing is, is hiring a new or you know, naming a new bench coach. Who does, who does Vogt feel comfortable, you know, you know, standing next to in the dugout bouncing ideas in, off. In the, you know, bouncing game, game related ideas you know, off of, during, during, you know, at crunch time. It’s just really kind of an interesting situation right now. But the, the big thing is they, they’ve got a lot of time to fill those, fill those vacancies. I would think Vogt probably knew this was coming. I, I. With Albanez interviewing last year with the White Sox and Marlins and being a finalist reportedly with those two jobs he had to have, he has to have a short list of guys that they would use as a bench coach or bring in as a bench coach.

Joe Noga: Right? Yeah. I think, you know, I were talking and just over his playing career, Stephen Vogt’s playing career and the trajectory that he was on as a player, you know, being talked about as a future manager, you start to build relationships and tell guys, you know, hey, if I ever get a managerial job, you know, you’re, you’re somebody who I would want on a bench. You know, you have relationships all over the league. So there’s, there’s a stable, there’s a list of guys that you can go back to and maybe invite to, to, to be a part of that process, the, the interviewing process for a spot on your coaching staff. Uh, you’re not necessarily looking for your best friends or your best buddies or guys that you always agree with or, or yes men in some sort of way. Uh, I think that’s sort of the relationship that that voter had and probably still have. I mean, I think back, you know, the day that we were introduced to Stephen Vogt as the, the next Guardians manager, Craig Albanez and his entire family were there at the press conferences. It was, you know, it was kind of, kind of neat to see the relationship between the two families. Both of their wives, you know, knew each other. Their kids were, were all familiar. So that was, that was, I mean, Albanez and his family were sitting in the front row as vote was being introduced that they’re, they’re very close. They’re, you know, they started in the, the Tampa Bay organization early on in their minor league careers together. Alvarenez played for what, nine seasons in the minors and then went right into coaching and, and working his way up through the ranks with Tampa Bay, eventually moving on to, to San Francisco as the, the bench co. The, the bullpen coach there for four seasons and did such a great job and, and was a candidate for that Guardians managerial position alongside Vogt. Vogt got the job. The Guardians saw fit to hire Alburnez as well. And I think really from the very beginning because he was such a quality candidate. Like you said, this move seemed like it was inevitable that, that Albert Nez was going to get a major league managerial job. What do you think of taking the, the Orioles position with all of the young prospects and young talent that they have on that or in that organization. Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday, just to name a few, expectations are going to be high. He’s playing in the AL East. That’s going to be a crucible there. Just. This is a, one of the, one of the top jobs available.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, this is really, you know, an attractive job, Joe. You know, this is, you know, a team that rebuilt, made the postseason in 2023 and 2024. They were kind of one and done each time in, but they really struggled with injuries this past season. A lot of their took a step backward. Tony Massalino, a former, you know, Guardians minor league manager, long time replaced Brandon Hyde after Hyde was fired, you know, early in the season in May. In fact, you know, Massalino led him to a 60 and 59 record. But obviously the, the organization, you know, went outside and in all, you know, and you know, in all regards it look, you know, it looks like, you know, they, they definitely hired Albertans. So it’s really, you know, just, it’s. It’s an interesting job because you don’t know, you know, are they, are they still on the upswing? Are all these young players still on the upswing? Can they get over the injuries? Can they get back to being a contender? And like you said in a, in a really, really difficult, at least where, you know, Toronto’s in the World Series, the Yankees made the playoffs, so did Boston. You know, three, three postseason teams are, you know, are you’re going to do. Be dueling with. And right now they’re in front of you.

Joe Noga: Yeah. And you know, you talk about the position that the Orioles and what he could be facing. Really, it’s the pitching side of things where they, they. They’re short and they’re depleted. So he’s going to have to use all of his sort of expertise and years of experience and what he learned in Cleveland to help him rebuild that pitching staff. Because on the position player side of things, they have young talent. They should be good for a good long time offensively. And, and yeah, it’s going to be a, you know, managing to, to sort of figure out what the formula is to get that pitching staff right and effective. But I think he’s going to a team with a lot of tradition and a lot of, you know, maybe they have the ability to go out there and spend a little and, you know, impact their roster with, you know, some payroll moves that, you know, maybe they don’t have in Cleveland. So you know, he’s getting put in a good spot. I wonder if at this time last year when, you know, he either turned down or, you know, just came up short in the Marlins and the White Sox, you know, bids there if he sort of knew in the back of his mind that there would be better opportunities after the, the 2025 season for him because. Because really the Orioles job is a lot more attractive than having to rebuild from the ground up in both of those cities.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, it’s, you know, great. It’s a great organization. You’re playing in a great ballpark. One of, you know, one of my favorite ballparks in the big leagues. You’ve got, you know, hall of Famers all over the place coming from, from the Orioles organization.

Joe Noga: Y.

Paul Hoynes: And, you know, I’m sure, you know, Albanez, you know, weighed his opportunities last year, you know, the Marlins, you know, rebuild and the White Sox were coming off, you know, just, you know, a terrible, terrible season, you know, and do you, do you want to get into that? Because that’s, you know, you’re looking at, you know, a long haul and kind of getting back to respectability. You know, it looks like a shorter path with the, with the Orioles, but, you know, and also maybe I’ll be felt he needed another year in the, in the dugout, another year as a bench coach. He needed a little more experience to finish himself off and that’s why he returned to Cleveland.

Joe Noga: Yeah. And you know, that decision to return to Cleveland really did pay off because you talk about the. Where that. Where the. Where the guardians were at points during the 2025 season. They leaned heavily on the coaching staff. They needed guys like Craig Alvarenez and Steven Vogt’s leadership to get back from that 15 and a half game deficit. You know, you lose Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, you lose several pitchers to injury. And really to sort of navigate that ship to where they went, they needed Craig Albanez to do that. He was a constant voice for Stephen Vogt and his energy and Chris Antonetti, Mike Chernoff, in their end of the season interview with the reporters and they talked about the energy that the coaching staff brought even during the darkest times that, that stretch of the season. And, and really Albert, as is one of the. We’re around these guys every day in the dugout, during pregame drills, after clubhouse time. Alby’s voice is, is unmistakable. He, you know, he’s got that, that East Coast, Massachusetts sort of accent and, you know, coming through, giving guys a hard time, you know, Encouraging guys, just bringing that energy throughout, you know, every part of the day, pregame, post game. I think it was an important reason why the Guardians were able to accomplish what they did this year.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, no doubt about it. You know, this is still a really young team. You know, they, they constantly were bringing players up from aaa and in a situation like that, the coaching staff has to be really active and involved and, you know, and in, in, you know, developing them. They still, they’re still developing at the big league level. And this coaching staff, you know, led by a vote, did it. That we saw. Like you said, Joe, we saw them out there. You know, they were out there infield and outfield drills regularly. No one was kind of sitting around because they knew they had to get better every day.

Joe Noga: Yeah. And, you know, we saw that payoff and in the results that it did. I just, I wonder how Stephen Vogt is going to be different in this next year. He’s going to have to take all these things that he learned in the first two years with sort of, you know, with that support from Albanez, from Kai Correa, and now he’s sort of out there flying blind. Not necessarily flying blind, but, you know, with. What do they say? Working without a net like the trapeze artist working without a net now is, is what votes going to be as, as he moves forward. And I, I, it’s going to be really cool to see sort of, you know, how he, what direction he takes things in without having Alvaren as there as sort of the, his, his backup. You know, we, we didn’t see Stephen Vogt get kicked out of, get ejected from too many games. So, you know, we don’t really, we’ve never really seen Alvarenez in that, that managerial role, but it’ll be new for him as well.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, you know, I think, you know, we’ve seen this transition a couple times in coaching staffs in Cleveland. You know, what I go back to, Joe, is when Brad Mills left the ball club, I think in, in 2020, you know, they had to find a new bench coach, you know, and eventually Terry Francona, you know, went outside the organization and hired DeMarlo Hale. I think you probably, if you’re Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff, I think you, you want to give, you know, you want to give, you know, vote, you know, a little bit of freedom here to, you know, pick, pick and choose. Maybe is he comfortable with somebody on the staff that, that he’ll promote and, and be the next bench coach? Could Sandy Alomar, you know, give up first base and go back to being a bench coach or does, you know, vote, you know, through, like you were saying before, through his, you know, through his playing career. Does he, is he got somebody in mind that, okay, I’d really like this guy to, you know, be the, my bench coach? Let’s go out and make him an offer and see if we can bring him into the organization.

Joe Noga: You know, we’ve, we’ve heard he talks up J.T. mcGuire, the outfield coach, as a sort of a rising star and an up and comer. Maybe, maybe he’s a guy that gets looked at. Anybody else on the, the, the guardian’s bench or you know, on their coaching staff who, who might be under consideration for jobs in other organizations as, as a, you know, as, as promotions for them, incentive for them to, to sort of leave and look outside the club.

Paul Hoynes: You know, we were talking about that before the podcast started and you know, I think, you know, one guy that kind of jumps out to me is Brad Goldberg. Joe. He’s, you know, Shaker Heights native. He, he grew up in Cleveland, but you know, he, he went from the bullpen coach two years ago to assistant pitching coach this year. I would think. I don’t know if, you know, necessarily the bench coach would be his next move, especially with Carl Willis coming back. But if, you know, if another team is looking for a pitching coach, you know, the big, you know, the kind of the head pitching coach, I think that would be a, the next step for, for Bradley. And you know, it would not surprise me if, if, you know, he’s had some inquiries this, this off season if, if teams have, you know, approached Antonetti or Chernoff for permission to talk to him.

Joe Noga: Yeah, and you’d be talking about teams that are, that are looking to do like complete rebuilds of their coaching staff. Like we had heard rumors of Los Angeles out there looking to, to completely make over their coaching staff under Kurt Suzuki, who was just hired last week. Yeah, there are still several openings out there, you know, managerial openings. You’re talk. Giants and Rangers all filled their positions, I guess along with the Orioles. Now Kurt Suzuki to the Angels, Tony Vitello to the Giants, he’s the Tennessee coach, he’s coming from college. And Skip Schumacher, hired by the Rangers early on in the off season. But the Nationals, Padres, Twins, Braves, Rockies, those are some, some pretty attractive jobs as well. I mean, who wouldn’t want to, you know, be the Padres, you know, on the Padres coaching staff and working there? So, you know, I Don’t know if they’re giving consideration to, to any pitching coaches or assistants on any of those staffs in the near future, but we’ll find out. What we do know is that Cleveland’s pitching coach is going to be back for what, his 16th year? 16th, 17th year. For Carl Willis, two stints with the club. Very reassuring, I think, for Stephen Vogt to at least know that, that Carl Willis will be there. And all things, all decisions. Pitching will sort of also funnel through Willis as, as the pitching coach because he just flat out did an amazing job of coaching in, in 2025, if you think about it, from, from what could have happened to that starting rotation to, to the way that they ended up basically not giving up a run as a starting rotation in September under Carl Willis. I think right there, you know, an accomplishment unto itself. But I don’t think Carl Willis considers the job finished and he’s. He’s coming back.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah. Great news for the Guardians and their pitching staff. You know, I was just looking at some numbers, Joe. Last year, Bybe made 31 starts. Williams made 31 starts. Allen made 29 starts. Saccone made 23 starts. Ortiz had 16 starts before he was put on paid leave. Cantillo was up and down between the bullpen, still made 13 starts. They got so much production out of that rotation that they led the American League in innings pitch. The rotation with almost 900 innings, 888 innings pitched. Just really a remarkable performance by the rotation. And you know, I guess the Cleveland pitching factory is back. And you know, Carl Willis had a lot to do with that. You know, Goldberg, so did Joe Torres, that whole pitching group. Really, I thought the minor league system you know, kept, you know, really produced guys that really helped this rotation. And you know, I think, you know, like you said, though, I think, you know, Carl would like everybody else on that coaching staff would like to see this team get over the hump and make it back to the World Series. And not only just make it back, but, but win it, you know, so to do that, you need pitching. And the, the Guardians certainly are on the right track with that.

Joe Noga: Yeah, you know, often we hear, you know, Stephen Vogt talk about, you know, if he talks about Austin Hedges, he says he’s the best defensive catcher in the game. If he talks about J.T. mcGuire, he says he’s the best outfield coach in the game. And you know, there, there are tie. At times. We heard him say Emmanuel Classe, he’s the best pitcher in the game. But we didn’t get to hear that too much the second half of the year. But, you know, you kind of. You hear it so many times, you kind of blow that off as maybe he’s speaking in hyperbole. When Stephen Vogt talks about Carl Willis and he says Carl Willis is the best pitching coach in the game, you know, you kind of got to believe him. I mean, if you look at Carl Willis’s track record, what, 5 Cy Young Award winners under. Under Willis, you know, just. If you just take the 20, 25 season alone and the numbers that you just gave about the starting rotation, I. I got to believe if he’s not the number one pitching coach in all of baseball right now, give me the name of the guy who you think is number one, and we can have a spirited debate, because Carl Willis right now is doing the job unlike anybody else.

Paul Hoynes: And, Joe, with those. Those starts that I gave you, you know, compared to the Dodgers, only one dodger pitcher made 30 starts. One starting pitcher made 30 starts this past season, and that was Yamamoto. I mean. I mean, you can’t compare the two staffs because of the money, but, you know, this is. The Guardians, and Willis know how to get, you know, the most out of their. Their starting rotation.

Joe Noga: And.

Paul Hoynes: And they do it while protecting these guys as well. You know, two years ago, the rotation was 50 and 57 with a 4.40 ERA, 10th in the American League. This past season, they were 51 and 50 with the 3.86 ERA, fourth in the American League. So, you know, you see the improvement. You see the work they put in, and, you know, what I loved about it is they had to be versatile this year. They had to be nimble, you know, with the loss of Class A and Ortiz, they lost, you know, the best closer in baseball over the last, you know, three or four years. They had to cover that inning, his inning. They did that by squeezing a little more out of the rotation. An inning here, one more. Two more innings out of each guy, and they were still able to come back, you know, mono historic comeback, win the division and to win the division for the second year in a row. And they did that by being able to adjust, by having a co. You know, a pitching coach like Carl Willis that, you know, they. They found ways to get a little. One more or two more innings out of each starter almost every start, and that. That helped them win games.

Joe Noga: Yeah, you’re out here throwing around Yamamoto’s name. It’s not like, what. What. What’s he done? You know? Oh, yeah, he’s. He’s gone back to back complete games in the, the NLCS and the World Series as the Dodgers and the Blue Jays have split the first two games. But, yeah, I, you really got to be impressed with what Willis did and you hope that they, you know, that the Guardians appreciate, you know, the position that he’s in just by, based on what Antonetti and Chernoff told us at the end of the year, you know, he’s really earned the right to, to be able to take some time, go back home after the season’s over and decide, you know, when he wants to step away. That’s, that’s entirely his decision because he’s earned it and, and the Guardians appreciate that for what it is. Carl Willis is going to come back and you would think Brad Goldberg, you know, if he sticks around and doesn’t take a job somewhere else that, you know, that’s a guy that they might be eyeing as, as like an heir apparent in the pipeline for the eventuality when, when Carl Willis does step away. But you can’t, you can’t deny what he’s done for this organization in terms of the pitching and you reserve a space for, for Carl Willis somewhere in that, in that hall of Fame or in the contributors wing of the Guardians hall of Fame, just as a special force that’s, that’s sort of driven. He’s that, that common thread through all the success that they’ve had basically over the last 20 plus years. So, you know, definitely something good to see. All right, Hoinsey, that’s, that’s going to do it. For today’s edition of the Cleveland Baseball Talk podcast. I’m sure more will, will learn more and more will develop. And we’ll hear from Craig Albanez as, as he’s introduced as the, the Baltimore manager and, you know, maybe talk about his relationship with Stephen Vogt and the time he spent here. We’ll get to some of that later on this week and we’ll talk to you again on the Cleveland Baseball Talk podcast.

Paul Hoynes: Good deal.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.