CLEVELAND, Ohio — Steven Kwan is still a Cleveland Guardian, and the collective sigh of relief from fans across Northeast Ohio could probably be heard all the way to Progressive Field. As the dust settles from the MLB trade deadline, the three-time Gold Glove winner and two-time All-Star remains in Cleveland’s lineup – but for how long?
The trade deadline came and went with Kwan’s name being tossed around in rumors involving multiple contenders. The Dodgers, Padres, Astros, and Mets were all reportedly interested, yet none pulled the trigger on a deal. Why? According to Guardians President Chris Antonetti, it came down to value.
“Throughout the whole process what we learned is that we value Steven Kwan very highly and so does the rest of baseball,” Antonetti told reporters after the deadline passed.
Cleveland.com Guardians beat reporter Paul Hoynes confirmed the organization’s approach on the latest Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast: “I definitely think they set the bar high and no one was willing to clear that bar.”
But Kwan’s future in Cleveland remains far from settled. While fans can breathe easy for now, the clock is ticking on his team control. Kwan won’t hit free agency until after the 2027 season, but the timeline for his future with the Guardians follows a familiar pattern that Cleveland fans know all too well.
“This gives them an opportunity to perhaps extend his contract next spring,” Hoynes suggested, “or they could still work a deal for him this offseason, you know, perhaps before or after the winter meetings.”
For Kwan supporters, there are several hurdles to clear before feeling secure about his long-term status with the club. First, surviving the winter meetings when trade discussions heat up again. Then comes spring training, when contract extension talks typically happen. Kwan himself has expressed interest in staying, telling reporters, “I love it in Cleveland. If the opportunity is there, I’d love to stay here.”
But the lure of free agency looms large. Cleveland’s history with homegrown stars has followed various paths – from a few long-term extensions (José Ramírez) to trading players away (Francisco Lindor) to something in between.
If no extension materializes, the Guardians could follow the Michael Brantley blueprint. “Maybe they make the decision to ride him out like they did with Michael Brantley, and then perhaps let him walk as a free agent,” Hoynes said.
For now, Kwan remains a cornerstone piece for a Cleveland team still in playoff contention, sitting just three games out of the final AL Wild Card spot. His elite defense, contact skills, and improved power make him essential to the Guardians’ chances down the stretch.
Want to hear more about Kwan’s future in Cleveland and the Guardians’ trade deadline strategy? Check out the full episode of the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast, where Joe Noga and Paul Hoynes break down all the deadline action and what it means for the Guardians’ playoff push.
Podcast transcript
Joe Noga: Foreign. Welcome back to the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast. I’m Joe Noga, joined by Paul Hoynes Hoynsie. The Major League Baseball trade deadline has come and gone and Stephen Kwan is still a guardian. A lot of people are going to be really happy about that. A lot of people were thinking that it wasn’t going to be the case and maybe had lost a few bets there. But Stephen Kwan sticking around. Was it just a matter of the asking price being set very high and no, no contending team being willing to meet that?
Paul Hoynes: I think that played a role definitely, Joe. I think it also may be the front office still thinks his team has a chance to do something in the wild card. But I definitely think they set the bar high and no one was willing to clear that bar.
Joe Noga: It wasn’t for, I’m sure, lack of trying by some of these teams out there. We did see in the final hours ahead of that 6pm deadline on Thursday, several teams that had been rumored to be all in on Kwon turn their attention elsewhere. We saw, you know, the Astros go after Jesus Luzardo from Miami. We saw the, the Mets get Cedric Mullins from the, the Baltimore Orioles. We saw the Padres who had been, you know, overnight had been rumored to be very close to a Stephen Kwan trademark. They, they went after Ramon Laureano and Ryan O’Hearn to fortify their lineup. The Dodgers were, you know, sort of the one that it was, sort of everything was pointing to them in the 11th hour. All the other teams had fallen to the side and, and it fit with, you know, Dalton Rushing being an attractive, you know, trade chip for the Dodgers that, you know, maybe there would something, something would work out there, but nothing ever really materialized. We asked Chris Antonetti at 6:30 how close they actually came to trading Stephen Kwon. And he said, you know, throughout the whole process what we learned is that we value Stephen Kwan very highly and so does the rest of baseball.
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, just, and why not Joe? I mean, you know, this guy we all know in Cleveland who have, who have watched him for four years, just good a player. He really is, you know, three time Gold Glove winner, two time all star, you know, really kind of a dominant leadoff hitter, great defender. So yeah, there’s a lot to like with Stephen Kwan. I can see why the Guardians kept him, you know, that not. This gives him an opportunity to perhaps extend his contract next, next spring or, you know, they could still, you know, work a deal for him this offseason, you know, at the, perhaps before or after the winter meetings.
Joe Noga: Yeah, that’s there’s, there’s sort of like progression now in steps. You know, we know Stephen Kwon will be with the Guardians through the end of this regular season. Once the season ends, you’ve got sort of a waiting period until those winter meetings when his name will surely come up in a lot of trade discussions at the winter meetings. And if you’re a Stephen Kwan fan in Cleveland, if you can get through the winter meetings and Stephen Kwan is still on the roster, then you’ve cleared another hurdle. And then you get to spring training and sort of there’s the opportunity there where they negotiate sort of those contract extensions and those, those, you know, big life altering deals for these players. And you’ve got Stephen Kwan on Wednesday telling reporters, hey, you know, I love it in Cleveland. If the opportunity is there, I’d love to stay here. He says that, but you know, the sort of the sirens call of the free agency in a little more than a year after next season, then you know that, that becomes a possibility. If, if Stephen Kwan is on this roster at, you know, on opening day of the 2026 season, is it more or less likely that he’ll be traded by the deadline by this time next year?
Paul Hoynes: You know, I think if he’s on the roster on opening day 2026, I think, you know, there’s, there’s, you know, there’s a good chance he could be moved at the, at the break, but also there’s a good chance, you know, that perhaps they’re, they’ve talked extension with them and they’ve signed them to an extension or, you know, they’ll, they’ve made the decision to ride him out like they did with Michael Brantley through his through 2026 and 2027, and then perhaps let him walk as a free agent.
Joe Noga: Yeah, it’s a possibility. And then you get draft pick compensation one way or another. Now that the deadline has passed. The Guardians moved on from Shane Bieber. We covered that yesterday. They traded him to Toronto. Paul Seawall, kind of a surprise trade to Detroit, still kind of scratching our heads over that one. And we learned that the Guardians picked up Carlos Hernandez as a waiver claim after the trade deadline passed. Hernandez had been released by Detroit and you know, there’s that time where he was able to be claimed on waivers. The Guardians did that. They had an open spot on their 40 man roster, so he fit right in on that. Really, you know, we’re now in that sort of next phase of the season where you’ve got your roster set and these Are the guys who are going to, you know, sort of you’re going to ride with to try and make it to the playoffs, make it to the postseason. Is this sort of a, sort of a moment of clarity for Stephen Vogt and the guys in that clubhouse where they can come together and say, look, the guys in this room are going to be the guys that we ride with. Let’s go out and win as many games as we can.
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, I definitely think so. You know, you can always, you know, add a player, you know, like they do on waivers, but that’s the only way I think you can really improve your ball club as sense since, you know, the trading deadline has come and gone. But basically, yeah, this is, this is the 26 guys. You know, they can make some changes through the farm system, but, you know, these are the guys you’ve got. And you’re going to have to see how, you know, just how this, these, uh, this team fares or what. They’re 54 and 54, nine games out of the race in the AL Central. And I believe in, in the wild card they are, let me see here they are what, they’re three games back of, of the third place in the wild card. Seattle and Texas played last night that were tied for the last, for the third wild card spot with Seattle winning. So they’ve got a one game lead over Texas on, you know, for the last wild card spot. And, and Cleveland is right behind Texas, three games out.
Joe Noga: Yeah. And you’re looking at the wild card standings and you’re thinking, wow, Seattle did a lot at the trade deadline. They, they got Eugenio Suarez. They, they improved their lineup. They’ve got, they added Josh Naylor as well. The Texas has come on strong of late. They’re 7 and 3 in their last 10 games. You’ve got a leapfrog, you know, both of those two teams or hope that the Yankees or the Red Sox just suffer some sort of, you know, terrible losing streak as, as the, the rest of the teams look like they’re pretty well entrenched in their, in their spots. You’ve, the Mariners and the Rangers were active at the trade deadline. They got, you know, lineup help with that they needed bullpen help that they needed. The Guardians didn’t do much to add to their roster, but, you know, is it still beyond the realm of possibilities to expect them to be able to jump up there and claw their way into a wild card spot?
Paul Hoynes: I think they’ve got a chance. They do play Texas. You know, the Rangers, you know, weren’t Weren’t idle either. They added Merrill Kelly a starter and Phil Maton, a reliever. So they were busy helping their pitching staff. So they’re going to be, that’s going to be a hard team to catch, especially since they’ve started to hit Joe and we’ve seen Seattle, what they’ve done, it’s going to be, it’s going to be a chore to catch him, but it’s not like they’re 10 games out.
Joe Noga: Yeah. And the Mariners do come to Progressive Field August 29th through the 31st at the end of this month. So the Guardians will have a chance to get their legs under them and get ready to face the Mariners if there’s a chance by the end of the month that they’re still in range there, that could be a big swing in that three game series. If Cleveland playing at home can do something against the Mariners, definitely looking at that. All right, so are you surprised about some of the guys that didn’t move at the trade deadline? Luis Robert from the Chicago White Sox was heavily rumored to be a guy that was on the move at some point prior to the trade deadline and that never materialized. Even in the Guardian zone locker room guys like Jacob Junas or Carlos Santana, neither one of them drew much interest, I guess because they’re still with Cleveland. Any surprises in terms of who wasn’t traded?
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, I think Luis, you know, Robert definitely a surprise. I thought, you know, the White Sox would try to move him. He was their main trade ship. You know, they, they moved some other guys from that team. So that, that was a surprise, you know, and from, from the Guardians, you know, I think, you know, if Santana had been having, was, had been having a better offensive season, he may have been, you know, you know, more sought after. But you know, he’s kind of got off to a slow start in the second half, still playing great defense and you know, so there were, there were some guys that, that, you know, that, that I thought were getting traded that didn’t get traded. But Joe, there was a lot of action yesterday. Man, there were bodies flying everywhere.
Joe Noga: Well, yeah, there, there was no lack of, of movement on trade deadline day. And really the most active among the teams is the one that the Guardians are going to see next at Progressive Field beginning tonight, the Minnesota Twins. You had the statistic in a headline this morning. 38.5% of their 26 man roster, of their active roster traded prior to the deadline. Hoyncy. They traded 10 guys off their big league roster. The St. Paul Saints are rolling into Progressive Field tonight for this three game series.
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, and I don’t even know if half Those guys were St. Paul saints. Joe. I don’t know who, who, who starts after, you know, you trade eight guys on, on the deadline day and do, do any of those guys you got in return, are they on the 40, man? Are they going to be in the lineup tonight? I mean, they traded Carlos Correa back to Houston, Griffin Jacks, Luis Verland, Brooke Brock, Stewart Colon, you know, just, you know, they traded Willie Castro, former Tribe farmhand Ty France, who absolutely torched the Guardians earlier this year. And then of course they trade Duran and Paddock earlier in the week. Just an unbelievable, you know, just, you know, they didn’t back the truck up. They backed the truck up. They backed two trucks up and cleaned out this team. And Derek Falvi was the guy doing, doing the deal, wheeling and dealing. He, you know, he got his start in Cleveland, but I don’t think he ever, he ever went through a day like yesterday when he was, you know, working in Cleveland’s front office.
Joe Noga: No. And, and he was able to sort of boost the stock of the, the farm system, you know, heading into whatever ownership change is coming. Well, we know that the Pollad family is, is selling the, the franchise. They, they thought they had a buyer in Matt Ishbia. The Phoenix Suns NBA basketball owner Matt Ishbia. But that deal fell through and Ishbia turned his attention to, you know, other teams. I believe it’s the, the White Sox where he’s looking now, but, you know, without a lot of certainty there with their ownership moving forward, I can understand why they, they basically cut things to the bone on their, their payroll, but you’ve still got to put a product on the field and, and what kind of product are you putting on the field when, you know, it’s basically Byron Buxton on the, the injured list and you’ve got Royce Lewis and a bunch of guys who nobody’s ever heard of going to be taking the field for the, the Twins this weekend. Unfortunately for the Guardians, though, they didn’t trade Joe Ryan, which would have been the most welcome sight for anybody in a Cleveland uniform. Joe Ryan always gives the Guardians a hard time, but he’ll be on the mound tonight to open the series for Minnesota. Just, you know, how deflating can that be? Can that process be when, you know, you look to your left, you look to your right and chances are that both of those guys are now gone from your, your clubhouse and you’ve got to take the field if you’re the Twins.
Paul Hoynes: Yeah. And what does Rocco Baldelli do? I mean, does he even know half these guys that are going to be in the lineup? I would imagine if they’re coming up from AAA or they’re, you know, he knows those guys. But what about this influx of new players? Are they all, you know, do they. Are some of them, you know, big leaguers? Are they. Are they automatically on the 26 man roster, 40 man roster? I mean, you’re going to. They’re going to have to. It’s going to be like football, Joe, where, you know, in, in training camp where you tape a name on the guy’s baseball cap just so you know what. Remember who their name is. It’s, it’s. I mean, this is, this is unusual. And, you know, it’s going to be a test for Bell Bald Deli. It’s going to be a test for that coaching staff.
Joe Noga: Yeah. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy, let me tell you. Rocco Baldelli, sorry, he just sort of chaps me one way or another. But the Guardians have to take advantage of this. The Guardians have to take advantage of the disarray that’s happening over in the Minnesota clubhouse. These are three games even though Joe Ryan and Simeon Wood Richardson are going to pitch in this series. You have to take advantage of this. You have to get into the Minnesota bullpen, which without Duran, without Colomb, is going to be decimated for this series. You have to make Ryan pitch. You make Ryan throw so many pitches early that they get into that bullpen in the first game, within the first, you know, four or five innings, and, and then get them so worn out and so rattled that you can take advantage for the rest of the series. That, that’s got to be Stephen Vogt’s thought with, you know, with blood in the water. You’ve got to take advantage of. Yeah.
Paul Hoynes: And who knows how this thing is going to work out. I mean, maybe you get a bunch of hungry kids coming up here and they’re playing out of their minds or, you know, you get, you know, the whole roster is kind of flipped like it has been. And, you know, there’s some uncertainty of who plays where. It’s really. It’s going to be, it’s going to be an interesting series to watch unfold. And you’re right, Joe, this is, this is a, you know, an opportunity for Cleveland. They have to take advantage of it. They’re coming off taking two out of three from the Rockies with the worst record in the big leagues. And now you know, the Twins are kind of served up on a platter for them.
Joe Noga: Yeah, it’s be a big storyline throughout the weekend with, you know, all the changes in Minnesota. All right, Major League Baseball making an announcement this morning. The 2027 All Star Game heading to Wrigley Field in Chicago, one of the sort of the historic ballparks in all baseball. You know, we’ve been there to cover games several times, and obviously the 2016 World Series took place there. Hoynsey, what’s your reaction to Chicago, the city of Chicago getting its eighth All Star Game, The. The Cubs getting their fourth. Their fourth All Star Game hosted at Wrigley Field?
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, I think it’ll be a great, A great event. You know, they’ve really built up that area, Wrigleyville, and it’s going to be, you know, really. It’s going to be a great, you know, baseball festival for the fans, for the Cubs. I. But Joe, I, I do not, I do not envy anybody having to cover that. That All Star Game. You cannot move in that place. You can’t. You can’t get anywhere. That’s. Logistically, it’s a nightmare. It’s a great event for fans. It’s a great, you know, a great ballpark to watch, but it is a tough place to work.
Joe Noga: If I’m a fan drinking a beer in the bleachers, Wrigley Field is like nirvana. If I’m a reporter covering a team, trying to get to the visiting clubhouse after the final out of the game, that is a nightmare beyond belief. It’s just. It’s a. It’s a great ballpark, but it was built, you know, at the turn of the century, in the 19th century. It’s. It’s not a modern place, not, you know, capable of handling events like this. And, you know, hopefully, I don’t know, hope. I don’t know, hopefully it’s perhaps the last All Star Game at Wrigley Field, because I don’t see how you can conduct an event like this there. Major League Baseball must be confident that the, the infrastructure is in place to accommodate everything that it needs to be. But don’t, you know, don’t make the headline that I’m talking, you know, badly about Wrigley Field because a lot of people with broad shoulders and, and push broom mustaches are going to come after you. But I’ll tell you, it’s. It’s not my favorite place to, to cover a game. And, you know, unless you’re. Unless you’re fueled by some old style, I’m not a big fan of the place. So, yeah, Wrigley gets the, the All Star Game. Atlanta had it this year, so they’ve, they’ve fallen into a pattern of, you know, two National League parks in a row and then two American League parks because you had Seattle and Texas back to back. I wonder if they’ll stay with that in terms of, you know, it doesn’t really matter who the home team is in the, the All Star Game. I don’t, I don’t think. But, you know, certainly interesting that they’ve fallen into that pattern. Yeah.
Paul Hoynes: Because for, you know, traditionally it was American League ballpark, National League ballpark. It went back and forth like that for, for years. But it’s changed lately. And like you say, Joe, I don’t think it’s a big, big difference. You know, there’s not a, you know, the, the All Star Game is as, you know, they have rightfully so I guess, made it, you know, more of an event. It’s no longer, you know, decides home field when for a while it didn’t decide home field for the World Series. So, you know, they, they’ve taken that away from the formula and it’s just, you know, it was, it was fun to watch this past World Series, the Home Run Derby was great and the game was good, too. So, you know, then they had the swing off at the end of the competition of the tie game, so, you know, just kind of really some interesting twists and turns. But the All Star Game is always fun, especially if you’re a fan. And at Wrigley, you know, it’s, it’s built for the fans, all the bars and restaurants around the ballpark. It’s easy access. You can get from. Get to Wrigley from downtown on the Loop, you know, so you don’t really have to drive and park. It’s a, it’s. It’ll be a great event.
Joe Noga: Yeah. One of the things that they’ve changed over the years at Wrigley is that they put in those, those video boards and it really takes away the, the idea or the ability for a player, if he really gets a hold of one, to hit one out of the ballpark onto Waveland Avenue into the neighborhood around there. So, you know, it takes away some of the charm with the fan service that they’ve done. But, you know, I go back to the old days of watching the black and white Home Run Derby shows that they used to have. They would replay those on ESPN Classic, and I’d sit there and watch all the old timers Hitting home runs out of that ballpark. So definitely something to look forward to. Also look forward to this weekend, the, another one of these showcase or jewel games for Major League Baseball. The Bristol Speedway game taking place at Bristol in Bristol, Tennessee on a NASCAR track. They’ve built a whole ballpark. You know, they’ve done this with the Field of Dreams game. They had the, the Little League Classic. You know, that’ll come back eventually too. They sort of rotate these, these games. You know, one of these days they’re going to have a baseball game and an aircraft carrier and we’re all going to be, you know, sort of amazed by that. But the Bristol Speedway game, it’s NASCAR and Major League Baseball fans sort of Christmas on in one day, the Reds and the Braves taking, taking part in the game. I saw their uniforms. They have sort of the checkered flag design on their ball caps. Pretty cool. Hoynsie, what do you think of playing a baseball game, a Major league game on a ballpark set up on the infield of a NASCAR track with a right field and more fans than ever watching a baseball game in one place in recorded history.
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, it’s, it’s really kind of a cool thing. I just saw a picture of it, Joe. It’s right in the middle of the track. So, you know, they put it, you know, right in the oval. So, you know, the ballpark kind of is nestled in there. I, that’s going to be, that’s a cool idea. And it just, you know, another way to promote the game, to, to, to expose the game to, you know, a different, different kind of fans and you know, and like you said, feel it follows the Field of dreams. It follows, you know, going to Europe to play, you know, to play some games. Just, you know, another, another way to probably extend the footprint of baseball.
Joe Noga: Yeah. And you’re reaching a demographic in those, the NASCAR fans that, you know, they’re sort of welcoming you into their, their corner of the world. Those, those stadiums for, for NASCAR are, you know, the capacity, the, the number of fans that they can fit in those seats, pretty overwhelming. This is going to set attendance records for a single Major League baseball game. And it’s going to be incredible. They also have a, like a whole village outside of the, the speedway there in Bristol where it’s almost like a carnival atmosphere for baseball that all the things that you would see at the, at the All Star Game, the play ball park and that kind of thing, those are all going to be there. So I saw this, this map where they had concentric circles around the. The speedway and just saying, you know, you can park, you know, there’s miles away and there’s, you know, like 100 miles out for however many hotels they can get to. It’s. It. It’s going to be tough for some of these fans, but there are going to be a lot of them in Bristol over the. The weekend.
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, Joe, there’s nothing like, you know, a NASCAR or. Or, you know, motor speedway track. I covered the Daytona 500 one year just before spring training in Winter Haven, and that was an experience, man. Those. Those people, they. They’re into it, and that is basically the game’s not. Baseball’s not going to be played at that speed because those guys live in the fast lane, man. But I think it’s going to be a great experience for NASCAR fans and baseball fans.
Joe Noga: They let you get behind the wheel on one of those stock cars and go around?
Paul Hoynes: No. No way, Joe. I was watching that for, like, a week, and I didn’t know what I was looking at. And the one thing I remember is one of the cars at the, you know, at the end of the race crossed the finish line upside down. I don’t know if that counted or not, if he was disqualified or not, but I would say, God, this is the wrong sport for me.
Joe Noga: That’s. That’s amazing. Well, maybe Ellie Della Cruz will, you know, cross home plate upside down after hitting a home run tomorrow night in Bristol. Hindsi. That’s going to wrap up today’s edition of the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast. We’ll check in with you on Monday here, and we’ll look forward to you then.
Paul Hoynes: Good deal, Joe.
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