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Hey, Hoynsie: Could the Guardians keep Steven Kwan for the next two seasons and then let him walk as a free agent? They’d get two more years of Kwan with Jose Ramirez in his prime. By that time, there should be another outfielder from the minors ready to take his spot. — Andrew Brooks, Elizabethtown, Ky.
Hey, Andrew: The Guardians have done this before with free agents, including Michael Brantley, Cody Allen and Andrew Miller after the 2018 season. They chose not to make them a qualifying offer and received no draft pick compensation when they became free agents and signed elsewhere.
If the Guardians don’t extend or trade Kwan, they could face a similar situation after the 2027 season when he’s eligible for free agency. They could make Kwan a qualifying offer, this offseason the one-year deal was worth $20.025 million. and get a draft pick if he rejected it. Or they could decide against making him a qualifying offer for financial reasons and let him walk with no compensation.
I can’t see that happening if they are unable to reach an extension with Kwan. Of course, depending on what happens when the basic agreement expires after the 2026 season, there may no longer be qualifying offers.
Progressive Field.
Hey, Hoynsie: Will Progressive Field be done with its current renovations by opening day? Or will there still be some of those outdated 1994 green seats mixed with those new beautiful blue ones? — Ed Radatz, Sandusky.
Hey, Ed: The goal is to have all blue seats in the upper deck installed by this upcoming season.
Hey, Hoynsie: Do you think it was a good idea to release Big Christmas, aka Jhonkensy Noel? — Michael Hardin.
Hey, Michael: Noel spent eight years in the Guardians’ organization, so they had a good read on him. He has big-time power and big-time swing-and-miss, and that didn’t seem like it was going to change.
The Orioles signed him in January after Cleveland released him, but they quickly released him as well. I think he’ll catch on with another team.
Carter Keiboom is in camp with the Guardians on a minor league deal.AP
Hey, Hoynsie: With the last name of Kieboom as in Kaboom, Carter Kieboom has to be the offensive solution the Guardians need, right? — Greg Uhland.
Hey, Greg: How many times do you think he’s heard that joke?
Kieboom, who bats right-handed, is in camp with the Guardians on a minor league deal. He’s hit five home runs in parts of five seasons in the big leagues and another 72 in the minors. Kieboom was Washington’s No.1 pick in 2016.
Hey, Hoynsie: I think the Guardians’ winged baseball is the dumbest logo in MLB. I had hoped that the winged ball was temporary while the team came up with a boffo, eye-catching logo. — Jeff Ford, Louisville, Ky.
Hey, Jeff: One of the lesser reasons the Guardians moved on from Chief Wahoo was because they felt boxed in by the logo. They could only do so much with it. Now they have a lot more design options so I wouldn’t give up just yet.
By the way, thanks for using the word boffo.
Hey, Hoynsie: Now that the Phillies have released Nick Castellanos do you see him with the Guards? — Gayle Kroninger, Fleetwood, Pa.
Hey, Gayle: Castellanos caused a lot of friction with the Phillies before they released him on Thursday. Last season he brought a beer into the dugout after being replaced during a game to escalate his feud with manager Rob Thomson. I think the Guardians can do without that kind of drama, but he does hit right-handed, has power and the Phillies are paying almost all of his $20 million salary for 2026.
Guardians’ Travis Bazzana.Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com
Hey, Hoynsie: Shouldn’t prospect Travis Bazzana stay in spring training and try to win the second base job instead of playing for Team Australia in the World Baseball Classic? — Darren Donato, Fleetwood, Pa.
Hey, Darren: Bazzana wasn’t going to win the second base job out of spring training even if he spent all spring in the Arizona desert. It sounds like playing for his country has been a lifelong dream for Bazzana, so why not give him that chance?
My only concern, as it is with every Cleveland player who participates in the WBC, is injury.
Hey, Hoynsie: If Luis Ortiz is not under contract for this season, is he a free agent? How is he under team control? — Patrick Grijak, Garfield Heights.
Hey, Patrick: Ortiz is still on the restricted list. It means he doesn’t count against the Guardians’ 40-man roster, can’t be traded and can’t go to spring training. Even if he weren’t under indictment by the federal government while facing a potential lifetime ban from MLB for conspiring with gamblers to throw fixed pitches, Ortiz doesn’t have enough service time to qualify for arbitration or free agency.
The Guardians, of course, could simply release him if and when the feds and MLB finish with him and teammate Emmanuel Clase.