Guardians avoid arbitration with two outfielders

With their backs against the arbitration deadline, the Cleveland Guardians managed to agree to terms with two of their outfielders on contracts for the upcoming season. The Guardians have avoided arbitration with both Steven Kwan and Lane Thomas.

Kwan will receive $4.175 million for the 2025 season in his first arbitration-eligible season, receiving a pay bump of nearly $3.5 million from 2024's salary of $757, 600. The pay increase is well deserved, considering that Kwan is one of, if not, the best left fielder in baseball and has proven to be a key part of the Guardians' success since making his debut.

The 27-year-old Kwan slashed .292/.368/.425 with 16 doubles and a career-high 14 home runs in 122 games. Kwan's offensive profile has developed past just being a singles hitter with the occasional extra-base hit, and his ability to drive the ball more frequently as his career progresses should result in his offensive output taking another step forward in 2025.

Thomas and Cleveland agreed on a salary of $7.825 million for the upcoming season, which just so happens to be about half a million less than projected. This is the final arbitration-eligible season for Thomas before he becomes a free agent, with his salary for 2025 being nearly $2.5 million more than what he made in 2024.

Cleveland acquired Thomas from the Washington Nationals last season in an attempt to improve the offensive production of their outfield. Unfortunately, Thomas saw his slash line drop to .209/.267/.390 with just 10 doubles and seven home runs in 53 games. The postseason was not much better with Thomas having just eight hits in 36 at-bats with two home runs and one double, both coming against the Detroit Tigers in the ALDS.

By having agreed to contracts with Kwan and Thomas, it will allow the Guardians to focus on other areas of their roster and possibly find a way to improve their team accordingly. Whether they make an addition of note is a different story entirely and does not seem all that likely considering the way the organization prefers to operate.