Chris Antonetti discusses Guardians in the first half

CLEVELAND — Team president Chris Antonetti gives manager Stephen Vogt a break and meets with the media periodically throughout the season. One of those days was prior to the series finale against the White Sox on Sunday, when Antonetti discussed a number of Guardians-related topics: Q: Rookies have needed to step up and they have, with two All-Stars in starting pitcher Parker Messick and second baseman Travis Bazzana. Could Antonetti have imagined needing this class to have this kind of impact? A: If you rewind to the offseason, we did talk a lot about the importance of our young players and providing a runway for them and opportunities for them to contribute. And the success of our season was going to rest largely on how well that group of players continues to develop, not just the rookie guys, but just some of the other young players on the roster. And it certainly hasn't been perfect and seamless, but that group has done a really good job of contributing and helping us find a way to win games and be in the position we're in now. The important part will be what we do from here. And can we continue to grow? Can we continue to learn and get better? Within each of those wins and losses, there are learning moments and opportunities for individuals and us as a team to learn and grow. You've seen that over the last few days. And those conversations are happening all the time. And so hopefully this group can continue to grow together and learn and provide some exciting moments for everyone the rest of the way. Q: You mentioned overcoming challenges being one of your guys' hallmarks, and there's quite a bit of recent evidence to support that. Are there elements or things behind the scenes that you point to to suggest why that continues to be the case? A: I would say it's the culture in the clubhouse, the culture that our players and our staff and (Vogt) has created. When things get tough or when we have those moments of adversity, you'll never find our group pointing fingers or blaming one another. They're actually coming together and thinking about how do they lift each other up. How do we deal with whatever the circumstances are together as a team to come through it stronger and find a way to be successful regardless of the challenges? I give our players and staff a ton of credit for building that consistent mindset. When you have guys like (catcher) Austin Hedges literally every day showing up talking about (the game) from when he walks in the door — how are we finding a way to win tonight's game? Doesn't matter what happened yesterday. Doesn't matter what the lineup is or who's pitching. Every day it is that mindset of how do we as a group find a way to win today's game? And that energy and mindset never wavers. Q: At this time of the year, what is the trade market like, the conversations, with the draft (Saturday and Sunday) being in this time period? A: There's conversations that happen between teams, but the intensity isn't nearly what it is as it is after the draft. Right now, a lot of teams, just with the change of the schedule and also the change in the (playoff) format — where so many teams are still competitive and trying to sort through exactly what their intentions and plans are at the deadline — that there's just typically not a lot of activity that happens before the draft. And that's really transitioned to be way more intense after the draft ends. I think it's like 90 percent of the deals happen within the last 24 or 48 hours as we approach the deadline. It's because deadlines usually encourage action. And I think that's probably going to be the case again this year. But you never know. We obviously made a pretty significant deal a few weeks back (trading for catcher Patrick Bailey) and that wasn't something I would have predicted at the time, either. Q: Do you think that you need to get a bullpen arm at the trade deadline? A: We'll have some time to assess that. I do think that group has continued to do a really good job and we play a lot of close games and that group's been a big part of helping us win those games. Q: What do you have to say about the way Cade Smith has seized the closer role? A: Cade is impressive in so many ways. Really from the time he joined the team and broke (training camp) with us a couple of years ago, he's been an instrumental part of our bullpen. And he puts in the work every single day to prepare to succeed. And I think we all get the benefit of seeing that play out on the field, just how consistent he's been as a pitcher and the way he handles those big moments. But what we get to see is the work behind the scenes that allows him to prepare for that. And he is as hard, if not the hardest worker we have. Q: Cooper Ingle is learning on the fly in left field and has fewer than a dozen professional games out there. Just what kind of things can you do to help him? A: Reps help, but I do think it's indicative of the culture that our players have built within the locker room, and you've probably heard Coop talk about it. It would be easy for things to snowball on someone when that type of thing happens (throwing the ball into the stands with two outs) or for guys to get upset or blame him. And our group has done the opposite. They've put their arm around Coop and told him, 'Hey, we're going to be there to pick you up as you're learning along the way.' The sense of belonging that he's felt, and support that he's felt from his teammates, has been really a big part of him being able to try to continue moving forward with what is a very difficult transition that we're asking him to do. Q: Ralphy Velazquez, a first-round draft pick in 2023 and No. 1 prospect, is a Futures Game selection. What have you made of the way he's played this year? A: Great year for Ralphy. I know we talked about him a couple of weeks back as he was transitioning from Double-A to Triple-A. He had a really successful start to this season at Double-A and hit the ground running and went to a new level with a new challenge. And I think Ralphy has shown that as he's gone up to a new level, it sometimes takes him a little while to gain his footing and then take off from there. I think he's now starting to make that transition to Triple-A. He's learning about the league, learning how some more advanced pitchers with both better stuff and maybe a little bit more experience are starting to attack him. And now he's starting to make some of those adjustments back. But by and large, it's been a really successful year so far for Ralphy, developmentally. Contact Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him @CAwesomeheimer on X.