Guardians experimenting with Steven Kwan position change to optimize lineup

On April 10, 2022, Steven Kwan made his first career big league appearance in center field. It also served as his breakout game, as he put together a 5-for-5 performance against the Royals that made him the first player since 1901 to reach base 12 times in his first three career games. 

While that production has stuck with Kwan in the nearly four years since, he’s found a new home in left field — so much so that he’s won the American League Gold Glove in left field in all four of his big league seasons. 

But it seems like a change could be on the horizon. Earlier today Guardians manager Stephen Vogt spoke to the team’s beat in Arizona and said that Kwan will see some playing time in center field this season while the team figures out if Kwan in center is a viable option for 2026. 

“We’ve talked about it a few times… We're going to give it some looks this spring and see if that's what our best outfield looks like. He's wanting and willing to do it,” Vogt said, per MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins. 

While Kwan only played in eight games in center in his career, he recorded 152 games at the position in the minors, so it’s clear that he knows how to handle himself in center. 

Even though Vogt prefaced his announcements by saying that nothing’s set in stone, the fact the Guardians are even considering moving one of the game’s best defensive outfielders to a new position says a lot about just how dire things are in the Guardians’ outfield. 

Guardians considering key position change for Steven Kwan 

The biggest benefit that could come from moving Kwan to center would be that the Guardians would have the ability to play more of their bat-first outfield options at once. 

The top two beneficiaries of that would be CJ Kayfus and George Valera, both of whom can only play the corner outfield spots. Moving Kwan to center would allow for the Guardians to play both of them at the same time or put out an outfield that consists of one of them, Kwan and Chase DeLauter. 

While both of DeLauter’s appearances in last year’s postseason came in center, most of his appearances in the minors came in right field.

He has the best chance of becoming an everyday player (so long as he’s healthy), and moving Kwan to center would give them more flexibility if DeLauter does become an everyday player. 

The team’s other options in center are Nolan Jones (who has no room for error), Angel Martínez (who is better suited as an infielder) and non-roster invitee Stuart Fairchild. 

Not only is Kwan one of the best left fielders in baseball, but he would also immediately become the Guardians’ top center field option. 

Now the Guardians have a month to decide if it’s the right position for him for 2026.