AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: GUARDIANS VS RAYS

October 11, 2026

Stephen Vogt

Tropicana Field

Cleveland Guardians

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. You said last night you'd think about the starting pitcher this morning. Foster said you just let him know. What is the timetable of thinking through that before delivering him the message right now?

STEPHEN VOGT: Obviously, you start thinking about it this morning when you wake up because you didn't think about anything last night. You were just going to enjoy it.

We obviously had some scenarios in the back of our heads, but we couldn't focus on today. We had to get through yesterday.

We got a group of us together and just kind of discussed what everybody was thinking, how we make every decision around here. And it was a no-brainer to give the ball to Foster in Game 1.

Q. Foster mentioned a little bit just the travel against Chicago, and it was tough and some sleepless nights. What was it like for you guys just to make sure you were staying at home last night, even if it meant coming in a little later today -- not a true show-and-go but it is different?

STEPHEN VOGT: Yeah, very different. I mean we're all used to traveling night of, getting in mid-morning. But just to his point, two days before we had gotten in at 4:00 a.m., and we were tired.

We played some pretty high-stress games the last three out of four days. So it just felt right, let's let the guys celebrate, let's let them do their thing in Cleveland, get as much sleep as we can, get on the plane, knowing that the game's not till 8:00 tomorrow night. We've got plenty of time to get a later workout in and guys will get plenty of sleep tonight. So it was a no-brainer to do it the way we did.

Q. Why was Foster the no-brainer decision for you guys?

STEPHEN VOGT: I mean, obviously, we feel like we're very fortunate. We have a number of really good starters and a lot of good options. We've used a number of methods to navigate games.

But with the way Foster's throwing the ball the last couple times out, with where we are with the bullpen, I mean, we still have to be cognizant of the workload that these guys just had. And we feel like Foster's got the ability to get us deep into the game tomorrow.

Q. We've seen so many cross-connections. Kevin Cash earlier attributed his time in Cleveland. You obviously have some roots here in Tampa Bay as well, and there's more beyond that. But what does that mean to you, to see the intimacy of baseball in this series?

STEPHEN VOGT: It's really cool. Even just Nate Lowe and I were talking about our time as Tampa Bay Rays. And once the Rays won their series, I really wanted to get here for a number of reasons.

I mean, this is the organization where, they gave me my first shot in pro ball. And this is where I grew up in the game. And the reason I'm sitting here is a lot of the people that have worked here or still work here that poured into me that saw value in me and who I was and helped develop me into the person and player that I am. It's going to be really fun to see a lot of those people over the next week.

It's really special coming back here. I always joke whenever I come here with the players, my career hits as a Tampa Bay Ray will be playing on a loop the whole series; just to look up at the scoreboard.

But this is such a special place for my family and me. And it's really fun to be back here in an ALCS.

Q. Along those lines, more fun, more pressure at such high stakes as opposed to coming back during the regular season? Does it make it more exciting?

STEPHEN VOGT: Yeah, I think it is. Again, the playoffs are a whole different beast. I think this is a tough place to play. They make it tough on you. It's a great environment. It's going to be really fun.

I haven't seen the Trop really packed in a long time. So it's going to be really fun to experience that again. We know it's going to be loud and intense. It's the ALCS; it's time to go.

Q. To follow up on last night, you said you guys gave them some time to celebrate, sleep in. Is that still a little bit of a blur that you're on a plane, and now you're here talking about being in the ALCS and four wins from the World Series and that kind of stuff?

STEPHEN VOGT: Yeah, I don't think it's really set in yet. But we're here. The guys are excited. We're prepared. We're ready to go. We're playing some really good baseball right now.

I mean what our guys just accomplished coming back from down 0-2 on the road. We feel really good about where we are.

We know we're playing a really good team that's had some rest. We're up against it. But that's when this team thrives is when we're up against it.

Q. It's been a while since you guys have seen the Rays and they won the season series. But obviously you've come together you've developed down the stretch. How different is this team from the last time you played these guys?

STEPHEN VOGT: I think we're extremely different. I mean, that was pre-trade deadline. That was -- we had some injuries, we had guys coming back from injuries. We've added to the team, and we're playing better baseball.

And I can't recall every game but I'm pretty sure every one of them were decided by one or two runs. We always play allows games against the Rays. And they pitch well, we pitch well, and situational hitting. So it should be a really fun time.

Q. The bigger picture, how would you look or do you see similarities between Cleveland as an organization, Tampa Bay as an organization, styles of games that the teams play, the way they go about a lot of their businesses?

STEPHEN VOGT: Yeah, I think they're very similar. It starts with the leadership. Eric Neander and Chris Antonetti are two of the best people in baseball. And they're really good at what they do -- and building teams very differently than some of the teams around the league.

And Cashy has been one of the best managers in the league for a long time because he knows how to use his guys. They play a very different brand of baseball than a lot of teams.

And we've got to be ready for defense. We've got to be ready for some good pitching.

But these two organizations are very similar and filled with amazing people that develop pitching and some really good talent.

Q. Talking to Erik Sabrowski earlier. He said rest did not do you guys good between the regular season and the first round, that maybe just rushing into another series so quickly after is good to maintain momentum. How do you look at not having rest going in and how that may play and factor into this series?

STEPHEN VOGT: I think I'll disagree with him a little bit. I think the layoff helped us a ton. We just didn't play very well the first two games. But we're here. Doesn't matter if we played yesterday, doesn't matter if we had five days off, we made it to this stage, and we're going to be ready to go.

Like I said, I really like the way we're playing right now, and we need to keep it rolling.

Q. Do you know who is going in 2 and 3 for you?

STEPHEN VOGT: We're not 100 percent sure yet. We need to kind of see how guys are feeling. Obviously, those three days -- we're going to let some guys play catch today, see how they feel.

Foster, Game 1, and I'll be able to confirm Game 2 tomorrow.

Q. What did you say to Petey Halpin last night, and were you giving him the stop sign on the second double?

STEPHEN VOGT: I think we all had the stop sign up on the second double. After I saw the video, that was a pretty cool moment.

I just told Petey, I'm like, "That's some big-time stuff what you did." He hasn't played or started a game in quite some time. And hey, we gotta win Game 5, winner-take-all, go get 'em, and he wraps two doubles.

That's Petey. He's ready at all times. He's been a huge part of our team, coming in late for defense, stealing bases, starting when we need him to. But really, really cool night for Petey.

Q. In the past series, the strikeouts, especially last night, you know the Rays are going to be probably trying to have first contact early in counts. How does your pitching staff address that?

STEPHEN VOGT: Make our pitches. It really comes down to that. We know these guys. We know they're going to make a lot of contact. They're going to bunt. They're going to put pressure on us.

Our defense needs to be dialed. But if pitchers execute pitches, it's going to be weak contact. That's the way it works.

Obviously, we had a pretty historic night last night with the 21 strikeouts. I don't think we're anticipating seeing that. But our pitchers execute, our catchers have a great game plan, and let's go see what happens.

Q. Not to say that these arms are easier, but is there something that you look forward to in game planning to go from the White Sox series that were just a litany of bullpen games to a more traditional setup with the way Tampa Bay is going to bring this?

STEPHEN VOGT: Yeah, it's just going to be a different series. With Chicago, I think we played each other 19 times, or 18. There was so much familiarity there. So this is a little bit different. They don't know us as well. We don't know them as well.

So the three starters that we're assuming they're going to throw are pretty good, and we've seen them. So we've got our work cut out for us. They're three really good starting pitchers, and we need to have quality at-bats.

Q. I'm not going to ask you to list off your 26-man roster for this series, but how much does a new round play into the conversations of, like, how much you guys go back to the board and evaluate, like, do we need any changes?

STEPHEN VOGT: Yeah, I mean, we just got done playing five games in eight days and now we've got seven games in nine days. So we're talking through what does the roster need to look like for us to combat that. We don't have the days off in between Games 1 and Game 2.

Can't be as aggressive with bullpen arms, things of that nature. We're kind of back to almost a regular season format in some aspects. So we're talking through what that roster needs to look like. So we're working through all of that.