Steven Kwan’s run of Gold Glove dominance finally hit a wall this year, and the reason had less to do with his play than with where the Guardians kept putting him.
For the first four seasons of his career, Kwan owned left field. He turned it into his territory early, and that stretch carried through two managers, three postseason appearances and two All-Star selections. This season, though, he was named a Gold Glove finalist and still came up short, losing the award to Red Sox center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela.
The odd part is that Kwan still logged plenty of work in left. He made 98 appearances there, compared with 88 in center. But the innings tell the real story: 637 in center field, 626 2/3 in left.
Cleveland’s outfield setup pushed him into that split. The Guardians had done everything they could to keep him in left during the first four years of his career, a lot easier when Myles Straw was around, but that changed this season as they tried to fit Chase DeLauter into the mix. Kwan, to his credit, went along with the move.
Early on, it didn’t look like the best idea. He opened the year with the worst start of his career while bouncing between left and center. But he finished on a tear, and his offense was actually a little better in center, where he posted a .711 OPS compared with .696 in left.
He was strong on the other side of the ball, too. Kwan finished with +6 Outs Above Average, which put him in the 90th percentile, and most of that value came in center field thanks to his range and an above-average throwing arm.
Still, Rafaela’s season was a tough one to beat. He won the center field Gold Glove for the second straight year after piling up 17 Outs Above Average and making 10 five-star catches.
So Kwan’s streak ended, but the finalist nod still says plenty about where he stands. If the Guardians keep him around, he should remain one of the best outfield defenders in the game in 2027.
Petey Halpin showed enough in the postseason to earn a look in center in 2027, but Kwan remains the kind of insurance every team wants. Cleveland doesn’t need a Gold Glove trophy to know what it has.
In Other News...
Guardians Suddenly Have A Real Shot At Needed Pitching Help
Colin Rea is suddenly on the market after the Cubs declined his contract option for 2027, and that makes him a name worth watching for a Guardians club that could use more pitching depth. Rea has bounced around the majors long enough to know how to handle different roles, and that kind of versatility matters for a team that always seems to value arms who can cover innings in a variety of ways.
For Cleveland, the appeal is pretty straightforward: Rea has worked both as a starter and a reliever, which gives him a profile that fits the kind of veteran bullpen swingman the Guardians often look to stockpile. No signing has been reported, so this is still a matter of fit rather than fact, but the opening is there and the need is clear enough to make it a logical connection. [Read more 🡒]
Stephen Vogt Just Gave Guardians Fans A Fresh Snub Debate
Stephen Vogts name was nowhere to be found when the Baseball Writers Association of America announced its 2026 finalists for AL Manager of the Year, a surprising omission for a skipper who had just won the award in both 2024 and 2025. The finalists instead were Kevin Cash, Chad Tracy and Will Venable, even though Vogt had guided the Guardians to an 85-77 finish and a third straight AL Central title.
The timing of the vote helps explain the disconnect, since ballots were submitted before the postseason and did not account for Clevelands comeback in the ALDS. Still, leaving Vogt off the finalist list gives Guardians fans another reason to revisit how much weight should be placed on a regular season that ended with the division crown and a manager who has already built a strong case as one of the leagues best. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians MVP Debate Starts With One Surprising Breakout
The Guardians 2026 season offered plenty of candidates for team MVP, but Bleacher Report analyst Joel Reuter went with a name that would have sounded bold not long ago: Chase DeLauter. The rookie outfielder made a real case for himself by leading Cleveland in batting average, OPS and doubles, all while getting into 133 games despite dealing with injuries along the way.
DeLauters emergence gives the front office and fan base a new kind of centerpiece to think about, especially with other strong seasons around him from Parker Messick, Gavin Williams, Cade Smith, Brayan Rocchio, Steven Kwan, Angel Martinez and Travis Bazzana. The bigger question now is whether this was a one-year breakout or the start of Clevelands next homegrown star taking over the conversation. [Read more 🡒]