Guardians Take Stance on Steven Kwan Trade After Emmanuel Clase News originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

Left fielder Steven Kwan is in his fourth season with the Cleveland Guardians after making his big-league debut in 2022.

Kwan broke out his rookie year finishing third in AL Rookie of the Year voting and earning a Gold Glove Award.

Since then, the 27-year-old star has established himself as one of the best leadoff hitters in baseball, collecting two All-Star appearances, three consecutive Gold Gloves and leading Cleveland to an ALCS appearance last year.

The Guardians have followed up that successful postseason run with a disappointing season in 2025, and as a result Kwan has appeared in trade rumors if Cleveland indeed intends to blow it up.

Early Monday morning, Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave as part of an MLB investigation into sports gambling with his leave extending through at least August 31st.

This eliminated any chance of Cleveland potentially buying at the trade deadline and increased the likelihood of trading Kwan, according to Ken Rosenthal. The Guardians however do intend to set a high bar for the return package in a trade for Kwan given the market and his club control.

Kwan is under team control through the 2027 season via salary arbitration. This means the Guardians can retain him through arbitration for two more years after 2025, and any other team that potentially acquires him.

Through 99 games this year, Kwan has a .285 batting average, .761 OPS, nine home runs and eleven stolen bases while playing Gold-Glove caliber defense every single night.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 29, 2025, where it first appeared.