Chris Rose lays out potential nightmare Guardians deal with familiar trade partner 

The Cleveland Guardians ended the 2020 MLB season at a bit of a crossroad. After making the expanded postseason in the truncated 2020 season, priority No. 1 for Cleveland’s front office was trying to figure out what to do with Francisco Lindor. 

And, with Lindor set to make $20+ million in 2021 in his final year of arbitration, Cleveland’s decision makers elected to move on from the superstar shortstop by trading him to the New York Mets. 

While the Guardians' decision about Steven Kwan isn’t the same five-alarm fire that Lindor’s was (Kwan still has two more years control left), prominent MLB commentator Chris Rose brought the Mets back to Guardians’ fan attention during Monday’s episode of JM Baseball’s Baseball Today. 

While any potential Kwan trade would be a gut punch to the Guardians’ fan base, dealing Kwan to the Mets would reopen a nearly five-year-old wound that opened up when the Guardians traded Lindor and Carlos Carrasco to the Mets in a six-player deal. 

After a rough first season in New York, Lindor has earned MVP votes in each of the last four seasons and finished as the runner-up to Shohei Ohtani in 2024. He’s coming off a season where he hit .267 with 31 home runs and 86 RBI. 

Lindor has evolved into the perfect player who can handle the bright lights and pressure of New York, and Rose thinks that Kwan has the same kind of make up that would allow for him to thrive in the Big Apple. 

“I do think there's one other trade candidate, I think Steven Kwan would fit them ideally,” Rose said. “They need outfield help. He is the most consistent guy. He can play in New York because he's the same guy every day, he doesn't hear anything. He just goes out and plays, he will give you great at-bats… I don't know if the Mets have exactly what the Guardians would be looking for, but I do think that could be a possibility for them.” (H/T to Clutch Points’ Joey Mistretta for pointing out Rose’s comments).

Could the Mets be a potential suitor for Steven Kwan?

The last part of Rose’s quote is arguably the most important part since the Guardians are likely still asking for a trade package that starts with one premium prospect. 

The Mets have three great pitching prospects in Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong and Brandon Sproat, but it’s hard to believe the Guardians would trade Kwan for a starting pitcher when they’re among baseball’s best at turning unheralded pitching prospects into aces. 

That said, they do have three marquee position player prospects in outfield Carson Benge, infielder Jett Williams and third baseman Jacob Reimer. 

The Guardians have been searching for outfield and middle-infield help for a better part of the last half-decade, so any of those prospects would be welcome in Cleveland — so long as there was more to the package. 

The Guardians acquired Amed Rosario and Andrés Giménez from the Mets in exchange for Lindor in the hopes they’d turn into long-term pieces on the infield, but Rosario was traded away in 2023 and Giménez was dealt to Toronto last offseason. 

While the thought of the Guardians trading a young star to the Mets may make you flinch, the Mets have the kind of prospect capital that would prevent Chris Antonetti from hanging up right away.