Steven Kwan isn’t reaching for the panic button, even with the Cleveland Guardians staring at elimination.
That’s the reality after Cleveland dropped the first two games of its ALDS against the Chicago White Sox at Progressive Field, putting the Guardians in a hole they’ve seen before - just not one they’ve consistently escaped in October. Kwan’s message was simple: stay steady, stay locked in, and don’t try to force the issue.
“We’ve had a ton of adversity throughout this year. We had a ton of adversity last year as well, so I think it’s just there’s no panic button.
We’re not trying to do too much. We just have to do it with a ton of focus, and we’re just gonna have a good day tomorrow,” Kwan said.
Cleveland’s regular season has been built on comebacks. The Guardians erased a six-game deficit this year to win the AL Central, one season after clawing back from a historic 15.5-game gap to take the division.
But the postseason has told a different story. The Guardians have lost 13 of their past 14 games when facing playoff elimination, including last year’s defeat to the Detroit Tigers in the AL Wild Card Round.
There is, however, a recent October turnaround in the books. In 2024, Cleveland trailed the Tigers in the ALDS before ripping off two straight wins to take the series, capped by a 7-3 victory in Game 5. That snapped an MLB-record 11-game losing streak in elimination games, a stretch that ran from Game 7 of the 2016 World Series against the Chicago Cubs through Game 5 of the 2022 ALDS against the New York Yankees.
The numbers around this kind of comeback are brutal. Teams that lose the first two games of a best-of-5 series have been eliminated 89 percent of the time, going 83 out of 93.
Cleveland knows the other side of that equation too. The last team to dig out of a 2-0 hole in a best-of-5 was the Yankees in the 2017 ALDS, when they won three straight to pull it off.
This isn’t the first time the Guardians have been pushed into this kind of corner. They lost the 2024 ALCS to the Yankees in Game 5, then were knocked out by the Tigers last year after finishing ahead of them in the division. This season sets up the same basic test, with Cleveland ending one game ahead of Chicago in the AL Central.
The White Sox, meanwhile, carry a strange bit of history into Wednesday. Chicago has not clinched a playoff series at home in 120 years, since beating the Chicago Cubs to win the 1906 World Series.
In Other News...
Guardians Loss Put Cleveland's Next Roster Decisions Front And Center
The Guardians season hung in the balance in Game 3 of the American League Division Series against the White Sox, and with that urgency came an offseason conversation that was already starting to take shape. Cleveland has a cluster of free agents to sort through, including Austin Hedges, Rhys Hoskins, Nathaniel Lowe, Shawn Armstrong and Foster Griffin, all of whom have factors that will matter as the front office looks ahead to roster construction and the margins that can swing a year.
If the series reaches Game 4, Parker Messick is expected to get the ball, adding another layer to a team already navigating the pressure of October. Messick and manager Stephen Vogt both addressed the challenge of handling the environment around a game like this, a reminder that Clevelands present and future are suddenly colliding at the same time. [Read more 🡒]
Vogt's Gavin Williams Decision Just Put More Pressure On Cleveland
Stephen Vogts choice to lift Gavin Williams in the sixth inning of Game 2 against the White Sox was made with caution in mind, as the Guardians manager said he wanted to avoid overextending the right-hander after 91 pitches. Williams had been working through a tough spot when he was removed following a single, and Cleveland was counting on the bullpen to keep the game manageable.
Instead, the relief group gave up more runs, and the loss left Cleveland in a deeper hole in the series. Now down 0-2 with the next games in Chicago, the Guardians face a tougher road than they wanted, and the decision to protect Williams only adds to the scrutiny as the pressure builds. [Read more 🡒]
Steven Kwan Just Made Clevelands Long Term Outlook More Complicated
Steven Kwans value is climbing at just the right time for the Guardians and at a difficult one for their long-term payroll planning. MLB Trade Rumors Matt Swartz projects Kwan at $11.3 million in arbitration for 2027, a number that reflects the strong second half he put together after Cleveland held onto him through trade rumors and the usual arbitration math that comes with a player gaining leverage.
The Guardians got plenty of return on that bet, with Kwan helping power a run to the American League Central title. But his rising cost is part of a bigger picture for a club that also expects Cade Smith to land at $5.5 million in arbitration and remain the teams long-term closer, which means Clevelands most important young pieces are getting expensive fast and the front office will have some choices to make. [Read more 🡒]