Vogt's message as camp opens? Don't count out the Guardians

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Tuesday marked the Guardians’ first full-squad workout of Spring Training, but it was far from Day 1 of camp. Players have been working out at Cleveland’s Arizona complex for the better part of a month, and the activity has ramped up over the past week.

But with Tuesday officially marking the start of camp, it was time for manager Stephen Vogt to deliver his annual speech to the Guardians’ clubhouse to set the tone for the coming season. Vogt’s overarching message centered on his utmost priority.

“We're here for one thing, and that's to win a World Series,” Vogt said. “Every day, we're working to get towards that goal. That's never going to not be the goal while I'm here. We know that, and our players are ready to answer that.”

The Guardians were close to reaching the Fall Classic in 2024, when Vogt first delivered an address like this. In his rookie season as manager, he led Cleveland to the AL Central title and the ALCS, where it lost in five games to the Yankees.

Last season was much more of a rollercoaster ride. The Guardians still gave themselves a shot at the ultimate goal with their historic comeback to win the division title, before they bowed out of the postseason in the AL Wild Card Series.

“I feel like for a good majority of the year, we didn't really play the best baseball -- whether it was me or whoever else,” starter Tanner Bibee said of 2025. “But I feel like we still found a way. I feel like, at least since I've been up here, it's been kind of the same thing.

“Like, you find a way to win, find a way to get there. And at that point, it can turn to whatever. … That was the whole motif [of Vogt’s message], I would say.”

The Guardians had a quiet offseason, beyond adding a handful of relievers to their mix. They did not add much by the way of external additions to an offense that struggled last season. Any turnaround from the group this year must start with Cleveland's young talent.

Perhaps that plan won’t pan out. Perhaps the young hitters struggle, and Cleveland’s postseason chances suffer behind the division rival Tigers and Royals -- both of whom have upgraded their roster this winter. But the motif that Bibee alluded to is the larger point behind Vogt’s message. The Guardians are showing up this year solely focused on winning, as any team should.

Take it from one of the new relievers, Shawn Armstrong. The 35-year-old is an 11-year veteran who’s in his 12th big league Spring Training. He’s experienced plenty of managerial speeches at the start of camp.

“Every team that I've been on,” Armstrong said, “if that's not what you're playing for, you’re in the wrong clubhouse. Regardless of what the media says or expectations that you think. When you get in here as a team, if your expectation is not to win, you're in the wrong place. It doesn't matter who's in your lineup, who's in your rotation. You still want to win.

“[Vogt] setting that expectation, I think every guy in here has that expectation. And if they don't, then I would not want them beside me, you know?”

On the other end of the service time spectrum is Chase DeLauter (the Guardians’ No. 2 prospect and No. 46 overall, per MLB Pipeline). He’s in the position that Armstrong once was, trying to make his first Opening Day roster. DeLauter noted everybody should have the same goal as a team.

“Yeah, of course, individually you need to take care of yourself, and you have certain things down the line,” DeLauter said. “But the main goal for everybody should be to win as many games as possible and win a World Series. If we're winning games, then we're going to reach our own goals.

“And, my God, if you don't want to win a World Series, then what are you doing?"

Vogt said he tries to keep his message at the start of camp short and sweet. He ultimately wants to make clear to the players from Day 1 that they’re here for a reason. Everything else falls in line behind that.

“You set the tone for the year, and then now we have to go back it up,” Vogt said. “And myself, I have to back it up. I think the more we can talk and the more we can try and instill confidence into our players, the better they're going to be.”