SAN FRANCISCO -- When the Rafael Devers press conference ended Tuesday, Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey went down to the field, but he wasn't there to take in any more of the day's craziness. Posey spent some time catching up with former teammate Stephen Vogt, who now manages the Cleveland Guardians.
"I just gave him crap for pulling off the trade," Vogt said a day later, smiling.
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SIGN UP HERE Vogt knows Devers better than most of the current Giants. His Guardians currently are neck-and-neck with the Red Sox for the final wild-card spot in the American League, and he has gone up against Devers for years as a player and manager in the AL.
In Vogt's final season with the Athletics, he and Devers homered in the same game at Fenway Park. Earlier this season, as a manager, he watched Devers pick up five hits, five runs, two homers and three RBI during a three-game series at Progressive Field in Cleveland.
Asked what the Giants are getting in Devers, Vogt referenced his Giants debut, when he hit a 111 mph double early in the game and later singled.
"You saw it last night. You make a mistake, he's going to bang it," Vogt said. "He's just a really good hitter, he's a complete hitter and obviously the power is real. He's going to hurt you [but] when he needs to get a single, he'll get a single. He'll work a walk when he needs to. He's a top 10 hitter in baseball in my opinion. The Giants got a good one."
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Vogt is in his second year as a manager, and his debut last season was about as successful as Posey's first year as an executive has gone so far. He was named AL Manager of the Year after leading the Guardians to 92 wins and a division title.
Vogt played just one season in San Francisco, backing up Posey in 2019. He was extremely popular within the clubhouse and remains close with Posey.
"Buster was an awesome teammate," Vogt said Wednesday. "I'm really happy that he's in the position that he's in and wish him nothing but the best."