Steven Kwan’s future in Cleveland looks increasingly complicated, and the timing may not be doing the Guardians any favors.
The All-Star outfielder has reportedly been seeking a contract extension for some time, but this offseason brings a layer of uncertainty that makes a deal even harder to imagine. Kwan is now just one season away from free agency, and that alone gives him plenty of reason to let things play out.
He still carries real value for a club trying to keep its window open. Even with the labor talks hanging over the sport, Kwan remains one of the best leadoff hitters in baseball, which is exactly why his next contract could get expensive.
Insider Paul Hoynes laid out the core issue for Cleveland after extension talks failed to produce a deal over the last two years.
“Kwan, under the current basic agreement, will be a free agent after 2027. It’s hard to sign a player who has been as consistent as Kwan when he’s this close to free agency,” Hoynes wrote.
The Guardians did revisit the possibility this spring, but just like the year before, those discussions never turned into an agreement. Kwan also showed a willingness to help the team by shifting from left field to center field, where he had won a Gold Glove in each of his first four seasons, so Cleveland could work more of its prospects into the lineup.
On the field, the season started badly enough to make the front office’s hesitation look justified. Kwan stumbled out of the gate, was bumped out of his usual leadoff role, and posted a career-worst start at the plate. But he flipped the script after the All-Star break, becoming one of the best hitters in the majors down the stretch and finishing with a familiar slash line of .282/.382/.349.
Now the financial picture gets trickier. Kwan is arbitration-eligible and set for a raise after making $7.7 million this season. MLB Trade Rumors projects an $11.3 million award for 2027.
That number may be more than Cleveland wants to commit, especially with several promising outfield prospects in the pipeline. At the same time, the Guardians may still be tempted to make one more push with Kwan after reaching the ALCS in two of the past three seasons.
In the end, the chance to lock him up at a lower cost may have already passed. After two offseasons without a deal, Kwan appears positioned to let the process run its course and chase a bigger payday.
In Other News...
Guardians Free Agent Search Keeps Pointing To The Same Type Of Target
As the offseason market starts to take shape, the Guardians search for help keeps circling back to a familiar profile under Chris Antonetti: players with some track record, some bounce-back appeal and a price tag that fits a club that has to be selective. Michael Conforto, Dustin May, Paul Goldschmidt and Nick Pivetta are among the names that surface in that conversation, along with one other free agent whose fit also lines up with Clevelands usual approach to roster building.
What makes the list interesting is less the star power than the pattern. These are the kinds of targets that can make sense for Cleveland if the front office believes there is more value to unlock than the market is currently assigning, especially with budget constraints shaping every move. None of it points to a finished plan yet, but it does suggest the Guardians are once again shopping in the same aisle they have preferred before, where upside and affordability matter as much as the headline. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians May Have Their First Base Answer Closer Than Expected
Ralphy Velazquezs rise through the Guardians system has given the organization something it has been searching for at first base: a real internal option with impact upside. After being drafted in 2023 as a catcher and quickly shifted to first base, he put together a breakout 2026 season that showed why Cleveland has kept moving him along, combining power and contact across Double-A and Triple-A while looking like a bat that could fit sooner rather than later.
For a club that has been looking for more offense at that spot, Velazquezs development has become one of the more intriguing storylines in the system. The Guardians are expected to at least consider him for a major league look in 2027, and if his bat keeps trending the way it did this year, the question may not be whether he belongs in the conversation but how soon they are willing to make room for him. [Read more 🡒]
Chase DeLauter Has A Strong Rookie Of The Year Case
Chase DeLauter spent enough of the season making noise that his name belongs in the Rookie of the Year conversation even if it never made the finalist list. The Cleveland outfielders offensive production stacked up well against the 2026 finalists, and when you line his numbers up beside Kevin McGonigles, the gap is not nearly as wide as the voting results suggest. For a player who has already given the Guardians a real look at his ceiling, that alone is a meaningful sign of where his rookie year landed.
The separation came more from the fuller picture than from the bat alone, with WAR and games played helping explain why the finalists ended up where they did. DeLauter can still make a legitimate case that he belonged in that group, and Cleveland fans have every reason to view him as one of the seasons most impressive first-year performers. Even so, the voters choices are easy enough to understand, which is part of what makes DeLauters season feel both encouraging and just a little unfinished. [Read more 🡒]