SF Giants beat reporter throws cold water on idea of poaching beloved manager

As the SF Giants have yet to hire a new manager, there are still some rumors swirling about the possibility of Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt being poached. Those rumors were recently quelled at least as they pertain to the Giants.

Giants beat reporter Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic wrote a recent article about the team's managerial search and included a very important nugget about Vogt at the end. The full article can be read here.

SF Giants hopes of landing Stephen Vogt are dashed

"Also, despite persistent rumors to the contrary, the Giants have not sought to poach Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt, who is under contract with the Guardians through 2026 and is poised to sign an extension in the near future."

The notion that the Giants would somehow be able to land Vogt always seemed like something of a pipe dream. He has done a masterful job with the Guardians in his first two seasons on the job, leading them to two straight AL Central titles and winning AL Manager of the Year honors in 2024 as the Guardians made it to the ALCS.

For the Giants to poach Vogt, they would have most like had to make some sort of trade for him which is just not all that common. Plus, it is unclear how much the Giants would have to give up for Vogt especially with how well he has done and how beloved a manager he is.

The desire to poach Vogt comes from a recognition that the Giants erred in hiring Bob Melvin after the 2023 season when they could have hired Vogt instead. It is a decision that continues to haunt the team but they cannot rectify it by swinging some crazy trade to bring him to San Francisco.

Instead, the most likely remedy seems to be hiring someone like Nick Hundley who has a similar profile to Vogt as a former Giants backup catcher who is well-liked but light on experience. He is reportedly the frontrunner for the job so if he is hired that is probably the closest the Giants are going to get to Vogt as manager.

There are other potential candidates in the mix with more experience like Brandon Hyde who last managed the Baltimore Orioles, but we will have to see what direction president of baseball operations Buster Posey wants to go in.

One thing is for sure: do not count on a trade for Vogt no matter what J.T. Snow posts on social media.