Cleveland Guardians' manager Stephen Vogt still believes his team has the talent to reach the playoffs as assembled.
The trade deadline is rapidly approaching. Especially with the MLB draft in the rearview mirror, front offices can begin to shift their focus to the current big-league roster and its needs.
The Cleveland Guardians are not an exception to this. They're starting the second half of the season just a half-game back of the division-leading Chicago White Sox, with some clear needs to solidify themselves as a postseason team.
Manager Stephen Vogt admitted that the general conversations in and around the team are pretty consistent with past years.
"It's, 'Who's gonna add? Who's gonna subtract? I mean, with where the league is right now... I heard today, it's like 23 teams are within four games of a playoff spot right now," Vogt said.
"I think the next two weeks are going to tell us a lot, but, you know, the guys are always talking about the trade deadline. Some excitement, some, you know, it's just the way the nature of the beast."
Even though there will inevitably be trades, deals, and moves around the league, possibly including the Guardians, Vogt is still confident with his current team, especially with the growth of their young players.
"I love our team. I love the guys we have. I love the development that we've seen with some of our hitters and this pitching staff has just been incredible and it's been fun to watch these guys grow," said Cleveland's skipper.
Apr 10, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt (12) makes a pitching change against the Atlanta Braves in the sixth inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn ImagesIn terms of Cleveland's trade deadline plans, Vogt emphasizes no one is going to guess about what the team might do, and will
"You don't want to speculate. 'What do you need?,' he continued.
"We need to just keep playing good baseball. This team is good enough to make a run and, whatever happens here in a couple weeks is going to happen and this group will rebound and go from there."
Is it possible for the Guardians to continue to grow and develop and claim a spot in the postseason as a result of that process?
Absolutely. There's an argument to be made that that's what happened last September.
Letting players develop and experience growing pains could be the best approach for long-term success.
However, Cleveland also can't ignore its needs. The Guardians have a .679 team OPS, which ranks 29th in MLB. Improving that could very well be outside help via a trade.
Still, until anything happens, Vogt makes it clear that his team will continue playing as hard as they've been all year.
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