Craig Albernaz recently received a bold prediction.
Cleveland Guardians head coach Stephen Vogt is set to enter the 2026 MLB season as a back-to-back winner of the American League Manager of the Year Award. With Cleveland likely to compete in the AL Central once again in 2026, Vogt could be a candidate to take home the honor once again. However, Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com expects the 2026 winner to emerge from a different division. The writer recently predicted that Baltimore Orioles skipper Craig Albernaz will win the 2026 AL Manager of the Year Award.
Albernaz, 43, is set for his first season as a manager in the American League. He has actually been on the Guardians' coaching staff for the past couple of seasons, and now he is set for this chapter in Baltimore. There were rumors that he would depart for a manager job last season, but Albernaz ultimately remained in Cleveland.
As far as his playing career is concerned, Albernaz signed with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2006 after going undrafted. He spent time in both the Rays and Detroit Tigers' minor league systems, but never did reach the MLB level as a player. He did play Triple-A baseball, however. The former catcher has displayed signs of potential with his coaching prowess, and now he will receive the opportunity to lead a potential contender.
For Albernaz, one has to imagine this is a dream-come-true. While he never played in MLB, coaching at the highest level of professional baseball is about as close as you can get to being on the field on a consistent basis.
Winning the Manager of the Year Award in his first season would be impressive to say the least. It is fairly rare to see, however, Vogt did accomplish the feat in 2024 with Cleveland. Additionally, Vogt was taking over for the legendary Terry Francona with the Guardians, so he had big shoes to fill. He has found success nonetheless.
Albernaz, meanwhile, is technically set to take over for Brandon Hyde in Baltimore. However, the Orioles moved on from Hyde during the '25 campaign and Tony Mansolino served as the interim manager for the rest of the season. Still, Baltimore's most recent non-interim manager was Hyde.
Baltimore is hopeful that Albernaz can find success and make a significant impact with the O's. Baltimore has built a potential contending roster, so there will be pressure on Albernaz. He is used to coaching competitive baseball after spending the past couple of years in Cleveland, though.