Jeff Passan’s latest trade nugget will likely give Guardians fans mixed feelings 

Last summer Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan was one of the names mentioned most often at the trade deadline. And while the Guardians elected to hold onto Kwan at the deadline and ended up making the postseason, he still stands out as a buzzy trade target given the fact that he and the Guardians are still nowhere near an extension. 

And, with next week’s Winter Meetings serving as a launch pad for almost every key trade, it seems like the rumors around Kwan will be hitting a fever pitch soon. 

But he’s not the only American League Central All-Star who is becoming a trade rumor All-Star. On Tuesday, ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel published a list of the top 25 trade targets ahead of the Winter Meetings, where he had Kwan ranked at No. 10 on the list, which isn’t great. 

But the players on the list ahead of him makes his inclusion on that list sting a little less — especially since one of those players is Detroit ace Tarik Skubal, who was ranked as the No. 1 player on the list.

Steven Kwan and Tarik Skubal highlight ESPN’s latest list of trade candidates 

While neither player is a lock to be traded (Passan and McDaniel had Skubal’s trade probability at 10% and Kwan’s at 25%), their inclusion on the list shows that both teams are at least listening to offers on their All-Stars. 

Well, Skubal is more than an All-Star. He finished the 2025 season with a 2.21 ERA in 195 1/3 innings en route to winning his second straight American League Cy Young. But that domination doesn’t automatically mean that he’s going to be with the Tigers long-term. 

Earlier this offseason we got a report from MLB insider Jon Heyman said the Tigers and Sukbal were “close to $250 million” apart in extension talks, and him headlining this list shows that still the case, even if it may not result in a trade. 

“Despite several executives believing Skubal will move, the Tigers have shown no sign of deviating from their position that the back-to-back American League Cy Young winner will stay in Detroit. Though he's a free agent after 2026 and contract extension discussions have gone nowhere, Skubal is the Tigers' centerpiece player, and Detroit intends to contend again next season,” Passan and McDaniel wrote. 

That set up a top-10 filled with Minnesota Twins, as Byron Buxton (No. 5), RHP Joe Ryan (No. 6) and RHP Pablo López (No. 8) were also on the list. 

Ryan and López were both given a 50% chance of being traded, but that also depends on how things could go with Buxton, who has reportedly shown a willingness to waive his no-trade clause. 

If the Twins do decide to trade some (or all) of that trio then that all but confirms the American League Central will be a three-team race between the Guardians, Tigers and Royals. 

Speaking of the Tigers and Royals, Passan and McDaniel had those teams as potential landing spots for Kwan, who was given a 25% chance of being traded. 

That said, the duo wrote that the “belief among other executives is that [Kwan] will remain this winter,” so a trade isn’t guaranteed. Even if every day that goes by without Kwan signing an extension means that we’re a day closer to him being traded, it seems like that may not happen this winter. 

Kwan was the only Guardian trade candidate included on the list, though they were also included as potential landing spots for Brendan Donovan and CJ Abrams. 

We’re still at a point in the baseball calendar where trade buzz is king, but that tide will shift soon thanks to the Winter Meetings. If Passan and McDaniel’s story was any indication, we could see some AL Central players get swept up in that tide.