Where Does Steven Kwan’s Future With the Guardians Stand?

Steven Kwan’s emergence as one of baseball’s best contact hitters and top defensive outfielders has been a double-edged sword for the Cleveland Guardians.

Kwan has played a key role in helping the Guardians get to the ALCS twice over the last two seasons.

However, Cleveland’s history of not extending players past their initial six years of team control has made it hard to talk about Kwan’s future.

The rumors have been there. The Guardians will listen to offers ahead of the 2025 trade deadline. With Kwan entering his final year of arbitration and set to become a free agent next offseason, the conversations about his future in Cleveland will only grow louder this winter.

At least for now, President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti shut down any idea that Kwan won’t be in the picture in 2027. In fact, the executive went so far as to say he expects Kwan to remain with the organization next season.

“I think our past history would say it could play out in a variety of different ways. There are certainly guys that have finished their term of control and gone to free agency. There are other guys that have been traded prior to the season, other guys mid-season, but a lot of that just depends upon circumstances,” Antonetti said (via Cleveland.com).

“As we sit here today, we’re expecting Steven Kwan to be a big part of a contending team next year.”

Yes, what Antonetti said late last week should shut down any trade rumors. However, it likely won’t stop the baseball conversation, given how the Guardians organization has operated in the past.

On top of that, Antonetti said that he believes Kwan will be around next season, as of right now.

A lot can change over an offseason. What if an opposing team approaches Cleveland with a trade package it simply can’t refuse, and Kwan ends up in a different uniform? It’s hard for the Guardians to flat-out say no with how they operate.

What could make trading Kwan this offseason that much more intriguing is that his trade value will never be higher than it is right now.

After an abysmal start to the season, Kwan turned his year around and was one of the best hitters in baseball during the second half. He recorded a .353/.443/.432 slash line after the All-Star break and was still a terrific defender when the bat wasn’t going his way.

Even if Cleveland’s plan changes and it decides to trade Kwan, that could be an option, but it’s hard to see anything happening before a new CBA is agreed upon.

If there truly is a salary floor or another incentive for teams with a low payroll to spend more (the Guardians were 30th last year at $74.4 million total), signing a player who has already been in the organization and has proven themselves to be a core member of the big-league team would make a lot of sense for the Guardians.

Again, a lot could still change before Opening Day 2027, but right now, it sounds like Cleveland is planning on Kwan being its leadoff hitter once again next season.