Steven Kwan will return to his minor league position for the Cleveland Guardians at times during Spring Training.
Steven Kwan may be best known for his elite bat-to-ball skills and inability to strikeout at the plate, but he's more than just an offensive-minded player.
The Cleveland Guardians have had one of the best outfield defenders on their roster since Kwan debuted in 2022. In four big-league seasons, Kwan has four Gold Gloves in left field.
However, the Guardians are going to run an experiment with Kwan this spring, moving him to center field on occasion.
“We’ve talked about it a few times, just with how we're comprised. “Like, ‘Hey, there might be a time you need to go to center,’ said Stephen Vogt on Thursday (quote via Tim Stebbins of MLB.com).
"But he's expressed interest in playing center at times too. We're going to give it some looks this spring and see if that's what our best outfield looks like. He's wanting and willing to do it.”
Apr 21, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan (38) throws the ball during the fifth inning against the New York Yankees at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Dermer-Imagn ImagesVogt continued that Kwan has been working on his conditioning with outfield coach JT Maguire since he arrived in Goodyear, to be ready to take on the new position physically.
Given Kwan ranked in the 90th percentile in outs above average, 100th percentile in arm value, and 94th percentile in fielding run value last season, the Guardians shouldn't be too concerned about any sort of drop off in his defense in the outfield.
Kwan should be successful in any outfield position given his natural skill set.
This news affects Kwan just as much as it does the rest of the position group. Obviously, with Chase DeLauter's injury history, having him play a corner outfield position may be best long term, and George Valera has never been the best defender in the minors, making center field
Even though Kwan has primarily played left field for the Guardians, he does have experience at all outfield positions. He actually made his MLB debut in right field back on Opening Day 2022.
In fact, most of Kwan's appearances in the Minors (152 games) came in center field.
Cleveland's best outfield alignment in terms of offense is easily DeLauter, Kwan, and Valera or CJ Kayfus.
It makes plenty of sense that the Guardians would want to move Kwan to center at times to make sure that's who's in the lineup.
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