Steven Kwan looks like the kind of answer the Orioles can’t really afford to ignore.
Baltimore’s outfield was a mess in 2026, and the numbers make that plain. As a group, Orioles outfielders produced just 3.9 fWAR, which ranked 22nd in MLB.
Nearly half of that value, 1.9 fWAR, came from Taylor Ward before he was gone. Mike Elias has said the club could try shifting infielders to the outfield, but that feels more like patchwork than a fix.
Without help from outside the organization, the same problem is waiting to show up again.
The free agent pool has some names worth considering. Seiya Suzuki is the biggest one after a career year, though he’s heading into his age-32 season.
Randy Arozarena has rebounded over the last two years in Seattle and knows the AL East. Ian Happ is another established option who would fit.
Still, Elias has generally steered clear of handing out big money to older free agents, aside from the Pete Alonso deal last year. Anything is possible, but the Orioles have usually preferred other routes.
That’s where the trade market comes in, and Kwan fits what Baltimore needs almost too neatly. The Orioles did plenty of their shopping there last offseason, bringing in Ward from the Angels, Shane Baz from the Rays, Blaze Alexander from the Diamondbacks, and re-acquiring Andrew Kittredge from the Cubs. If they go that route again, Kwan stands out as the best outfield target available.
His 2026 season came in two very different acts. Before the All-Star break, he hit .225/.332/.282.
After it, he took off and posted a .353/.443/.432 line. By the end of the year, he was worth 3.8 fWAR, almost matching the total value of all 14 players who appeared in the Orioles outfield last season.
Kwan would also give Baltimore something it has been missing near the top of the order. Orioles leadoff hitters in 2026 combined to hit .226/.310/.345, and that kind of production is hard to live with.
Kwan batted first in 105 games for Cleveland this past season and hit .278/.376/.347 in that spot. For his career, he owns a .282/.355/.385 line leading off.
The power is not the selling point. Kwan hit only three home runs last year, though he had 11 and 14 in the previous two seasons, so some pop is there.
The real value is in the way he plays: he doesn’t strike out much, he draws walks, and he keeps pressure on pitchers. He struck out 62 times and walked 85 times in 2026.
His 9.7% strikeout rate and 13.3% walk rate both sit among the best in the game.
The underlying data backs it up. Kwan isn’t built on loud exit velocities or eye-catching hard-hit numbers, but his production lines up closely with his expected metrics.
He hit .282, while his expected batting average was .277. His .334 wOBA and .328 xwOBA are similarly close.
He earns his results by putting the ball in play where defenders aren’t and forcing pitchers into the strike zone.
There is some year-to-year fluctuation in his bat. Since his rookie season, his wRC+ has gone 125, 99, 130, 98, 114. That profile still points to an at least average hitter every season, and the rest of his game keeps him firmly in positive territory even when the offense dips.
Then there’s the glove, which is a major part of the appeal. Kwan has already won four Gold Gloves and was a finalist for another in 2026.
He finished with six outs above average last season, good for the 90th percentile among all fielders, according to Baseball Savant. Baltimore’s outfield, as a unit, was at -9 outs above average, even with Colton Cowser turning in a strong defensive year at 10 OAA.
Pairing Kwan with Cowser would give the Orioles a strong defensive foundation.
The catch is that Kwan wouldn’t be a forever solution. He turns 29 and is set to reach free agency after the 2027 season. An extension is possible, but the Guardians rarely hand those out, and players that close to the market often prefer to wait.
The price would be steep, too. Cleveland won the AL Central in 2026 and came within one game of the World Series, so it doesn’t have to move him.
And with the free-agent outfield market looking thin, plenty of teams would be after him. Baltimore would need to pay up.
The Ward trade offers a clue to the kind of package that might be required. The Orioles gave up four years of Grayson Rodriguez to get Ward, who was less valuable overall than Kwan and also on an expiring contract. A Kwan deal would likely cost more than that, probably including at least one major league-ready outfielder, maybe Enrique Bradfield Jr., plus another prospect or two with real appeal.
However they do it, the Orioles have to fix the outfield this winter. A position switch or two might help, but it won’t bring the kind of certainty a proven veteran does. Baltimore may wind up doing both.
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