Ranking Guardians' Steven Kwan's Landing Spots with Trade Packages amid Latest Rumors
With the Cleveland Guardians' 2025 season unraveling to a scandalous degree, two-time All-Star left fielder Steven Kwan is gaining all sorts of traction as a candidate to be traded before Thursday's 6 p.m. ET deadline.
It still feels unlikely the 27-year-old will be dealt, and the asking prices we'll get to shortly are sure to be sky high.
However, the likelihood of Kwan being traded blossomed from somewhere around five percent a few days ago to more like 35 percent amid four losses in five games and an elite closer being placed on "non-disciplinary leave" amid a gambling investigation.
Assuming Cleveland is at least accepting calls about Kwan at this point, which teams are best equipped with prospects (and most desperate in the outfield) to make a deal happen?
What Is Kwan's Trade Value? And What Are the Latest Rumors?
1 of 7
Steven Kwan was an All-Star earlier this month, as well as last season.
He has two years of team control remaining, making $4.175 million this season.
He's no elite slugger, but he's one of the best contact hitters in the sport today. Since reaching the bigs in 2022, his .285 batting average ranks in the 95th percentile of qualified hitters, slightly better than Bryce Harper (.284) and José Ramírez (.283), not far behind Shohei Ohtani (.292) and Bobby Witt Jr. (.288).
Were it not for Luis Arraez, Kwan would be the most strikeout-averse active hitter. He's also a substantially above-average baserunner, with 63 stolen bases in his career.
Kwan is a three-time reigning Gold Glove winner, too, quite possibly on his way to a fourth such honor, leading the majors with nine outfield assists and ranking as one of the best left fielders in Fielding Run Value.
Add it all up and his trade value is quite high.
Baseball Trade Values puts his "median surplus value" at 52.4. That's a meaningless number on its own, but we can compare it to Philadelphia's Andrew Painter at 49.4 or Pittsburgh's Bubba Chandler at 56.4—both of whom are virtually untouchable and rank top-10 among MLB.com's top overall prospects—and infer that it's going to take a pretty serious offer to get Kwan out of Cleveland.
However, in light of Monday's colossal Emmanuel Clase sports betting investigation news, there's a burgeoning belief the 52-54, perpetually-hamstrung-by-budget Guardians are more willing to move Kwan than they seemed to be 48 hours ago.
The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal told Foul Territory on Tuesday afternoon: "They don't have to trade him. They probably shouldn't trade him from a competitive standpoint. But, with what has happened [Clase news] let's face it: Their chances for 2025 are pretty much shot. ... They don't have to do this now. But maybe some team will push them to do it now."
Nos. 10-6: Yankees, Astros, Giants, Reds and Mets
2 of 7
10. New York Yankees: The roster fit doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but the Yankees are (or at least should be) getting desperate to make some splashes to maintain their grip on a playoff spot. And with both Trent Grisham (UFA) and Cody Bellinger (player option) potentially leaving the picture this winter, another outfielder with team control might not be a terrible idea. Pretty sure their deadline focus is on upgrading the pitching staff, though.
9. Houston Astros: Bringing in Kwan to play left would cement Jose Altuve at second and could be a huge boost as the ailing Astros try to hang onto first place in the AL West. However, they presently have one of the most underwhelming farm systems and would need to convince Cleveland it's actually a good thing to be on the "lottery ticket aggregation" side of a 6-for-1 type of trade.
8. San Francisco Giants: Losers of 10 of the past 12 games, the Giants are now four games back in the NL wild-card picture and may well just let it ride with what they've got rather than doing any serious buying. But if they're still desperate to win in 2025 and are willing to part with their top prospect, 1B Bryce Eldridge, this could be a match made in heaven.
7. Cincinnati Reds: While San Francisco has plummeted out of the immediate playoff picture, Cincinnati has won nine of its last 14 to officially enter the fray. There's no question the Reds could use an outfielder, too. However, does this franchise even know how to be a buyer at the deadline? And are they willing to part with what it would take to get Kwan? Both are doubtful.
6. New York Mets: Trading for a left fielder and shifting Brandon Nimmo to primary center fielder would solve that season-long woe for the Mets. But while Steve Cohen at least needs to be mentioned in any sort of bidding war, his reluctance to part with multiple prospects worth a darn is probably at an all-time high right now, watching from afar as the Cubs flourish behind Pete Crow-Armstrong—whom the Mets gave up to get Javier Baez and Trevor Williams four years ago.
5. San Diego Padres
3 of 7
Current OF Situation: LF Gavin Sheets, CF Jackson Merrill, RF Fernando Tatis Jr.
MLB Top 100 Prospects: 3. Leo De Vries (SS), 20. Ethan Salas (C)
Hypothetical Trade Package: Steven Kwan to San Diego Padres for C Ethan Salas, RHP Miguel Mendez (No. 7 in Pads' farm) and RHP Bradgley Rodriguez (No. 10 in Pads' farm)
Left field has been a massive question mark since the moment the Padres were unable to re-sign Jurickson Profar this past winter.
For the year, San Diego's "as LF" split has amounted to a negative-0.4 fWAR. Gavin Sheets has been passable as the regular in that spot over the past six weeks or so, but he's a band-aid solution with a negative career WAR and 75 innings played in left prior to this season.
Pairing Kwan in the lineup with Luis Arraez for the next few months could be a fun solution to the Padres' problem. Those two hitters annoying opposing pitchers with their refusal to swing and miss before turning it over to Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts to drive them in could be just the shot in the arm this offense has needed for months.
However, all the talk about San Diego being willing to trade Dylan Cease while trying to thread the needle into a spot in the postseason suggests rather loudly that they're not trying to part with a bunch of top prospects in another, much lighter version of the Juan Soto blockbuster from three years ago.
Rather, if the Padres are trading for a $4 million-ish LF with two years of arbitration eligibility remaining, it seems much more likely to be Jarren Duran from Boston, as the Red Sox would love to add Cease to their rotation and wouldn't require as much prospect capital in that deal as Cleveland would for Kwan.
4. Toronto Blue Jays
4 of 7
Current OF Situation: Depends on the Day
MLB Top 100 Prospects: 45. Arjun Nimmala (SS), 50. Trey Yesavage (RHP)
Hypothetical Trade Package: Steven Kwan to Toronto Blue Jays for SS Arjun Nimmala, RHP Trey Yesavage and OF Yohendrick Pinango (No. 8 in Jays' farm)
As impressive as Toronto has been in amassing what was the best record in baseball earlier this week, its entire outfield situation is one big platoon.
Ten different Blue Jays have logged at least 100 outfield innings played, but none of them ranks top-60 in the majors in innings logged in the outfield. Nathan Lukes has made at least 16 starts in each of left, right and center, but Myles Straw leads the way for starts in one spot with 44 of them in center—107 games into the season.
In an ideal world, Daulton Varsho and Anthony Santander would be healthy and productive and left field would be darn near the last thing on the Blue Jays' deadline agenda. Instead, they've been expertly cobbling together a makeshift solution on a nightly basis and could solidify their World Series case with the addition of a reliable batting average/elite arm combo in left field.
Is an outfield upgrade really a priority for Toronto, though?
The bullpen is where it most dearly needs help, and it did already trade for Seranthony Domínguez on Tuesday afternoon to help address that deficiency. Secondary to that, a frontline starter would most likely be what the Blue Jays are looking for if they're taking a "Screw the farm, we want to win right now" approach this week.
Then again, a debilitating inability to score runs in October over the past half-decade just might make them prioritize adding one more guy who can consistently get on base. (Kwan is a career .347 hitter with a .413 OBP in 17 postseason games.)
3. Los Angeles Dodgers
5 of 7
Current OF Situation: LF Michael Conforto, CF Andy Pages, RF Teoscar Hernández
MLB Top 100 Prospects: 21. Josue De Paula (OF), 30. Zyhir Hope (OF), 35. Alex Freeland (SS/3B), 79. Eduardo Quintero (OF), 90. Mike Sirota (OF), 96. Jackson Ferris (LHP)
Hypothetical Trade Package: Steven Kwan to Los Angeles Dodgers for OF Zyhir Hope and LHP Jackson Ferris
For months, the Dodgers refused to give up on Michael Conforto. Nearly 80 percent of their left field plate appearances have gone to the veteran on a one-year, $17 million deal, even though he had a sub-.600 OPS for most of the season.
At long last, their patience has been somewhat rewarded. The 32-year-old is batting .343 over his last 12 games, including a 424-foot home run off former teammate Walker Buehler on Sunday.
Is that enough to save his job?
Or are the Dodgers still going to go out and shore up what had been—aside from a pitching staff-wide inability to stay healthy—their most glaring weakness up until two weeks ago?
They figure to prefer the latter route, at least partially because Kwan is the multi-year solution they could use while waiting for their stockpile of highly touted young outfielders to progress through the minors.
However, Conforto's recent surge might make the Dodgers a little more reluctant to make an offer the Guardians can't refuse, particularly with fall back options such as Kiké Hernández (when healthy), Esteury Ruiz, James Outman and more already in place if Conforto does bottom out again.
2. Seattle Mariners
6 of 7
Current OF Situation: LF Randy Arozarena, CF Julio Rodríguez, RF Dominic Canzone
MLB Top 100 Prospects: 15. Colt Emerson (SS/3B), 23. Lazaro Montes (OF), 49. Harry Ford (C), 58. Michael Arroyo (2B/SS), 59. Ryan Sloan (RHP), 61. Felnin Celesten (SS), 62. Jonny Farmelo (OF), 70. Jurrangelo Cijntje (LHP/RHP)
Hypothetical Trade Package: Steven Kwan to Seattle Mariners for C Harry Ford, OF Jonny Farmelo and RHP Michael Morales (No. 12 in M's farm)
Both Kwan and Arozarena have almost exclusively played left field over the past few seasons. In fact, those two and Chicago's Ian Happ are the only players to log at least 3,000 innings in left since the beginning of 2023.
If one of the two is willing to shift to right field, though, what a massive acquisition Kwan could be for the Mariners, who have been in a pretty much constant state of searching for a solution in right field dating back to 2022.
This season, in particular, has been brutal. The M's have at least a .300 on-base percentage from every other spot in the lineup, but the revolving door in right has amounted to a .226/.275/.362 triple slash, buried in the bottom third of the order far more often than not.
Imagine turning that mess of a spot in the lineup into one of the best leadoff hitters in the business, regularly putting more ducks on Cal Raleigh's pond.
Goodness knows they have the necessary prospect capital to swing what could be the biggest trade of the deadline. Goodness also knows they have payroll restraints and would want to target a salary like Kwan's if they're planning to do anything big.
Emerson and Montes are probably just about untouchable as Tier 1 prospects, but a package of Ford, Farmelo and Morales would be tough for the Guardians to ignore.
1. Philadelphia Phillies
7 of 7
Current OF Situation: LF Max Kepler, CF Brandon Marsh, RF Nick Castellanos
MLB Top 100 Prospects: 8. Andrew Painter (RHP), 18. Aidan Miller (SS), 44. Justin Crawford (OF), 56. Eduardo Tait (C), 86. Aroon Escobar (2B), 92. Mick Abel (RHP)
Hypothetical Trade Package: Steven Kwan to Philadelphia Phillies for SS Aidan Miller, RHP Moisés Chace (No. 8 in Phils' farm) and 1B Keaton Anthony (No. 17 in Phils' farm)
Philadelphia's entire outfield situation in 2025 has been...problematic.
Primary starters Kepler, Marsh and Castellanos each has a negative bWAR for the year, and only the Royals have amassed less "as OF" fWAR than the Phillies.
No matter how poorly Luis Robert Jr. has played at times this season, the Phillies just kept on popping up as a candidate to trade for him and his bloated salary, because it was inevitable they were going to be on the hunt for at least one outfielder.
Incredibly, they lead the NL East in scoring in spite of those shortcomings. That's quite the testament to how valuable Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and Bryce Harper have been, but it doesn't make left field any less of a low-hanging fruit for them.
If anything, it makes Kwan the crown jewel who could make them the team to beat over the course of the next two months.
The only real question is whether they'll prioritize Kwan over, say, upgrading the entire bullpen. But they could do both. They have the prospects to make it happen, and they could add relievers from elsewhere while selling Cleveland on the dream of an Aidan Miller and Travis Bazzana middle infield over the latter half of this decade.
