AL DIVISION SERIES: WHITE SOX VS GUARDIANS

October 3, 2026

Stephen Vogt

Progressive Field

Cleveland Guardians

Pregame 1 Press Conference

Q. Stephen, I know you kept the roster mostly the same. What were the conversations like about maybe getting another bat in there? How did Rhys factor into those conversations just with the lefties the White Sox can throw?

STEPHEN VOGT: Yeah. Obviously we talked through a number of different things as we were constructing the roster for this series and really liked the position player group that we had through September, thought that worked well.

And we talked a lot about Rhys, adding Rhys with the left-handed bullpen that the White Sox have, but just when we boiled down to it, the twelfth pitcher really is what it came down to more so than not adding Rhys. We felt like we wanted the twelfth arm for this series. So Rhys got himself ready, and we can't thank him enough for that, and he'll continue to stay ready throughout the postseason.

Q. What went into the conversations maybe around Slade for the roster?

STEPHEN VOGT: Yeah. I mean, again, both Craig Yoho and Slade having to come off. When you have to make two subtractions, it's never going to be easy especially when you feel like you have 28 very good players, and even more so, with a lot of depth that we've had throughout the whole year.

And when we just broke it down knowing that we were going to carry all five of our starters, felt like keeping one extra kind of one-inning stint guy was a little more important. And unfortunately that meant Slade wasn't going to be on the team.

And we asked Slade to do a lot this year in the rotation for over half the year, moves to the bullpen, unfortunate injury and came back and pitched some big innings for us down the stretch, and again Slade is very much an option for us moving forward depending on how long the season progresses.

Q. With all the starters on the roster, that means there's potential there for some other pitching roles that maybe they hadn't pitched in before. Will previous experience from this season dictate sort of who goes into those different spots?

STEPHEN VOGT: Again, I think to forecast out how exactly we're going to use the pitching is really difficult especially with the days off. We felt that having those guys, there's no extra innings, there's no ghost runner anymore.

You want to make sure that you're covered there. And Foster has experience coming out of the bullpen as well as Joey. So I think Tanner is really the one that has not pitched out of the bullpen, and we've spoken with him about possible roles, possible opportunities, and all three of those guys said they'll pitch whenever we ask them to and just being great teammates.

Q. Rocchio seems to have a knack for clutch moments. Can you just talk about that ability and what has September meant for you guys?

STEPHEN VOGT: Yeah. Brayan had a phenomenal year, start to finish. Obviously everybody goes through some ups and downs, and you can point to any negative or positive you want to, but the fact of the matter is Brayan Rocchio was consistently in the lineup for us. We've moved him all over the order with all the various injuries, and really owned himself in that nine hole.

We asked him to move all around the order as we were figuring out getting healthy, but Brayan was super consistent. When the game is on the line, you want him at the plate. I mean, he seems to just always step up in those big moments because he wants it, and he expects it. And we couldn't have asked anything more from Brayan this year.

Q. How much does familiarity help or maybe even hurt you a little bit in this series because you see Chicago so much?

STEPHEN VOGT: Again, the familiarity thing, they've got it with us. We've got it with them. There's no secrets.

We know about how they're going to deploy. They know about how we're going to deploy. We know who's going to hit when. They know who's going to hit when. It's about execution. That's what this series about. It's about how can out execute the other team, and it's going to be a lot of fun.

Q. You talked in the past about how your experience in the postseason has helped you learn from maybe you might have pulled the trigger too fast on something. How do you lean into or weigh analytics versus the eye test in what you're seeing in a guy when you've seen from him all year?

STEPHEN VOGT: I rely heavily on analytics. I mean, I think everyone does. You have to. It's great measuring tools. It's a tool to help navigate through a baseball game.

And I always say I lean on them heavily. I also lean on my instincts and our players because our players are the ones that do it. Analytics doesn't play the game. Players play the game, but it's a super important piece that we have to be educated on to understand what puts you in the best position to succeed.

I would say -- this is a made up number. That is why I love analytics because I am making up a number, but I would say 90 percent of the time analytics and baseball gut instinct the line. It's the 10 percent of the time that you gotta go with one or the other, and that's what usually the decisions that everybody is talking about.

Q. What have your conversations with Hosey been like? How is he feeling with the off days that he got heading into the series?

STEPHEN VOGT: Again, I don't talk to Hosey much. Just let him do his things. He's feeling great. He had a great week of work. He got some really good reps. He swung the bat really in his live at-bats. He's been getting a lot of good work in in the cage as well, and Hosey is ready to go.

Q. When it comes to the analytics, how much do you lean on current results, maybe based on historical postseason?

STEPHEN VOGT: I mean, again, I think the phrase analytics probably gets overused. You're just looking at numbers. Everybody has looked at numbers for the entirety of baseball history. And analytics helps predict. It helps understand what could happen, what might happen. There's no number that we look at, whether it's a stat, whether it's a predictor that's a thousand percent or 100 percent.

So I look at all those things, and I also rely on the person. A lot of this comes down to who the person is and what are they capable of.

Q. Stephen, what's your -- as you've gotten to know him more and more, what's your kind of favorite part with the way Parker Messick goes about his business?

STEPHEN VOGT: There's so much to like there. I mean, first of all, he's an unbelievable human being, unbelievable teammate, unbelievable competitor, worker. And then he goes out and pitches. And he's super competitive. He's prepared. He works his back side off to make sure he's at full strength or as close to it every time he goes out.

I love that he pushes the pace. I love he attacks the strike zone. He's got six weapons, and he's not afraid. All of that make up and all those things, that's what creates a really good pitcher.

Q. I know he's been picking the brains of some teammates about playoffs. Have you talked to him about anything?

STEPHEN VOGT: No. Just go be Parker.

Q. This is the third straight year for you managing this club in October. What's different for you here in year three versus two years ago?

STEPHEN VOGT: I mean, two years ago, I had no idea. I had no idea what to expect. I had no idea what it would feel like. And you still don't. Every year is different.

There's past experiences. You have things that you can rely upon or you've seen before. I'd never seen any of that before from this seat. And so you just continue to learn. And again, I'm really proud of our group, that this is three years in a row we've made the postseason.

But I'm in my third year, and I'm just going to continue to learn and keep getting better. And I know from past experiences things to look out for, things to be ready for. But none of those have happened yet today. You gotta watch today's game. The game will tell you what to do and that's why I rely on people around me.

Maybe I've got a little more predictive instinct and can see things a little sooner, but not today. I don't know. Today's game hasn't started yet, and every game is different.