Mariners' Stephen Vogt delusion is cooked after manager commits to Guardians

Stephen Vogt becoming the next manager of the Seattle Mariners was always unlikely. So in some ways, it's nice to know that it just plain won't be happening.

As reported by Zack Meisel of The Athletic, Vogt left no bones about it on Thursday regarding where he stands with his current gig with the Cleveland Guardians: “I’m coming back."

Meisel further reports that Guardians president Chris Antonetti said that the Mariners have not inquired about their 41-year-old manager. While the details of Vogt's contract remain unclear, he's apparently signed for next season and beyond. Antonettii says he has “every expectation that Vogt is going to manage here for a really long time.”

If it's true that the Mariners never even contacted the Guardians about Vogt, then they and Vogt are strictly responding to all the speculation that's been out there. And yeah, we've done our share.

That such speculation was also present in many other places reflects how compelling the fit was on paper. Vogt got his coaching start with the Mariners as their bullpen coach in 2023! He and his family live in Olympia! And given Jerry Dipoto's stated preference for someone with experience to take over as skipper, who better than a two-time AL Manager of the Year?!

Stephen Vogt and Guardians refocus Mariners manager speculation on where it belongs

It was always a long shot, however. Even if the Mariners had reached out and the Guardians were willing to listen, it would have taken a trade to land Vogt back in Seattle. Such trades are rare, and the Guardians would have held all the cards. The price for Vogt may have been so high as to be downright unreasonable.

Could Vogt have put his thumb on the scale to force the Guardians into giving him up? In theory, but it seems that he and his family have made the Olympia-Cleveland geographical split work. Per Meisel, Vogt's family travels for spring training and the playoffs and spends most of the summer in Cleveland.

“Our home and our family is the most sacred thing to us,” Vogt said. “We love the Cleveland area. We love our summer here. I love living here. I just wish I could be in two places at once.”

Now that this bubble has burst, the focus among the Mariners fanbase can be where it belongs: on the actual candidates for the job.

Reports have put the initial list of candidates to succeed Dan Wilson in the dozens. It's surely been narrowed down since then, and some that have come to light include Joe Espada, Rocco Baldelli, Brandon Hyde and Jason Kanzler.

Ideally, the Mariners will get this search wrapped up before the end of October. Once November hits, the countdown to MLB's all-but-certain lockout and subsequent communications blackout will be down to just a few weeks. The more time the new guy gets to have with the organization, the better.

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