Simple Guardians decision could be catalyst to Steven Kwan’s incredible July

This is the version of Steven Kwan that Guardians fans are used to seeing. After starting the year with three rough months that led to him getting removed from the leadoff spot while also starting some serious conversations about his future with the club. 

But all that has seemed like a distant memory in July thanks to a vintage month where Kwan has been the most productive hitter in baseball. 

Although Kwan is hesitant to declare that he’s back, it seems clear that he’s back looking like the All-Star who sucked up everything on the grass while slapping hits all over the outfield. 

And part of the reason for that success could come down to the Guardians deciding to keep Kwan in left field as opposed to trying to make up for their previous outfield mistakes by putting in center field like they did earlier in the season. 

Steven Kwan has been much better in left field this season

Although Kwan had won the American League Gold Glove in left field in his first four big league seasons, the Guardians still decided to give him some time in center in an attempt to fix their outfield woes. 

While Kwan provided the Guardians with some solid defense in center, the move wasn’t much of a win thanks to Kwan’s offense taking a nose-dive. 

But he’s put that in the rearview mirror in July by posting a .426/.523/.556 slashline in 18 games while playing almost exclusively in left field. After opening the month by playing in center field in three of his four appearances, Thursday’s game marked the 14th straight game where he’s played at just left field. 

After Kwan's 2-for-4 showing against the Twins on Tuesday, he now has a .685 OPS in 57 games in left field compared to a .605 OPS in 50 games in center field, so he clearly seems to be more comfortable when he’s playing in left.  

He provided even more evidence to that fact against Minnesota when he racked up another multi-hit game at the top of Cleveland’s order while making another fantastic catch in left. 

While it’s been easy for the Guardians to fit Kwan into left thanks to the presence of Petey Halpin, it could get a bit tougher tomorrow if Angel Martínez ends up being activated from the injured list. 

Even though Martínez would provide the Guardians with some much-needed offense, he was one of the worst defensive center fielders in baseball last year, which was one of the biggest reasons why the Guardians decided to put Kwan in center this season. 

Forty-three of Martínez’s 64 appearances came in left field prior to getting hurt, so it’s only natural to assume the Guardians are going to want to get him some time there as he gets his sea legs back under him. 

Although the Guardians may be tempted to send Halpin back down to the minors to make room for Martínez, they should think long and hard about making some other kind of move so that way they can keep Kwan out of center field. 

It may not be perfect, but one option could be to designate Rhys Hoskins for assignment and shift Gabriel Arias into the right-handed part of the team’s first base platoon alongside Kyle Manzardo. 

Arias handled his own at first base on Thursday (his first appearance at the position since 2024), and it’s hard to believe the team wouldn’t put him there if they didn’t trust him. 

But no matter what the Guardians do, all of these adjustments are good problems to have since they’re happening in response to the team getting healthier and Kwan playing well. 

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