Top Notes From the Cleveland Guardians ZiPS Projections for 2024

A new era will start at Progressive Field in 2024, with former All-Star catcher Stephen Vogt taking over as the manager for the Cleveland Guardians.

The 39-year-old will have an almost impossible act to follow, as he’ll succeed future Hall of Famer Terry Francona. While Cleveland fell one game short of winning the World Series in 2016, the franchise now known as the Guardians did just about everything else during Francona’s 11 seasons as skipper.

Francona won the AL Manager of the Year on three occasions in Cleveland(2013, 2016 and 2022), leading the team to six playoff appearances and a pennant in more than a decade at the helm. In total, Cleveland went 921-757 (.549) with Francona as their manager, despite being consistently outspent by other AL powers.

We’re not saying Vogt won’t end up being an excellent manager in his own right, it’s just hard to project that right now given that he was still an active player two years ago and his only previous coaching experience came as the bullpen and quality control coach with the Seattle Mariners a year ago.