Cleveland Guardians lose lead assistant to Baltimore Orioles

After pulling off the largest division comeback in league history this season, it was clear several members of the Guardians organization would be getting bigger and better offers elsewhere this offseason.

It’s already happened for Cleveland, as a key member of the front office heads to a new challenge in the AL East.

The Baltimore Orioles are finalizing a deal to bring in Craig Albernaz, the Guardians’ 42-year-old associate manager, to become the team's manager.

The Baltimore Orioles are finalizing a deal to hire Craig Albernaz as manager, sources tell ESPN. Albernaz, 42, was previously associate manager with Cleveland and was a widely sought-after candidate for open managerial jobs. He joins a O's team coming off a 75-87 season.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 27, 2025

Since being promoted with Cleveland’s organization two years ago, the team has averaged 90 wins and won back-to-back division titles. This past season, the Guardians led a 15-game comeback to steal the division away from Detroit, shocking the MLB.

Despite having a lack of postseason success this year, it was clear the front office in Cleveland put the rest of the league on notice. Especially considering the Guardians have done all of that despite having a bottom-third payroll over the past two years.

With all that factored in, the Guardians had some high-level targets in the front office. Just a few weeks ago, Cleveland lost Kai Correa, their director of defense, baserunning and game strategy in addition to major league field coordinator. He went to the New York Mets to become a bench coach.

The Guardians also nearly lost Carl Willis, their 64-year-old pitching coach who was a high-valued target for a lot of teams this offseason. Reports say that Willis will be returning to Cleveland this season though.

Prior to being the associate manager in Cleveland, he was a major league field coordinator with the Guardians. Albernaz also worked as a bullpen coach for the San Francisco Giants, and held several positions inside the Tampa Bay Rays farm system.

Albernaz also had a playing career as well. He played nine seasons inside the Rays’ and Tigers’ organizations as a catcher, reaching as high as Triple-A.

Albernaz will have his work cut out for him in Baltimore. The team went 75-87 this season, last in the American League East. If Albernaz had shown one thing though, it’s the ability to help turn a team around. The team does contain a strong core though, just falling short of their 2025 expectations.

In Cleveland, it’s no surprise the organization is losing Albernaz. He has been a name commonly thrown out for the manager-needy teams this offseason. Cleveland may have had high hopes of keeping the staff together, but likely has a plan in place to move forward without him.