The Phillies are already staring at the 2027 season, and one of the cleaner fits on the trade market could come from Cleveland.
Dayn Perry of CBS Sports included Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan on his list of the Top 25 MLB trade candidates for the 2026-27 offseason, and Philadelphia is one of the teams he named as a possible landing spot. Perry also listed the Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs and Seattle Mariners as the other most likely destinations.
Kwan checks a lot of boxes for a Phillies club that barely slipped into the postseason as a Wild Card team in 2026 before falling to the Atlanta Braves in three games in the NL Wild Card Series. He’s a contact-first hitter who consistently puts the bat on the ball, and he doesn’t give away many at-bats with strikeouts. He also brings elite defense in the outfield.
The numbers back that up. In 2026, Kwan hit .282/.382/.349 with 21 doubles, three triples, three homers, 80 runs scored, 32 RBIs, 10 stolen bases and a .731 OPS. He also set a career high with 85 walks while striking out just 62 times.
It was the second time in his career that the 29-year-old topped 5.0 WAR in a season, and his glove continues to carry major value. Kwan has won four straight Gold Glove Awards in left field, and in 2026 he split his time between left and center, playing 98 games in left and 88 in center.
He was part of a Guardians team that won the AL Central, then rallied from an 0-2 deficit in the ALDS to beat the Chicago White Sox before losing to the Tampa Bay Rays in six games in the ALCS.
Perry put Kwan in the “bold possibility from contenders” bucket, which he defined as “Core contributors on teams with legit playoff/World Series aspirations who, despite those factors, still may be on the block for reasons of salary escalation, to fill roster needs elsewhere, or to make room for an incoming high-ceiling prospect.”
Perry gave Kwan a 30% chance of being traded this offseason, and with Cleveland often moving players before free agency, the fit is easy to see. Kwan is expected to hit free agency after the 2027 season, and the source notes that the Guardians are known to trade talented players the year before they reach the market. The article also says Kwan is anticipated to enter free agency in 2028.
For Philadelphia, the appeal is straightforward: an elite defender who puts the ball in play and doesn’t strike out much would be a major addition.
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