Terry Francona's previous time with Steven Kwan could end up defining the Guardians’ offseason 

It may be hard to believe, but Steven Kwan has played more games with Stephen Vogt as his manager than with Terry Francona. When Kwan first got called up, he quickly became a staple atop Francona’s lineup card while becoming a leader for a young team that was finding his way — all of which happened with Francona sitting on his stool near the top of the Guardians’ dugout. 

While Francona left Cleveland after 2023, the growth Kwan made under Francona has bled into his three years with Vogt which has included Kwan winning two more Gold Gloves while also netting the first two All-Star nods of his career. 

But could the old become new again this offseason thanks to Francona’s background with Kwan? 

Kwan’s status with the Guardians is going to be one of the main storylines for the Guardians this offseason since he only has one year of team control remaining and could make a shade over $11 million in arbitration. 

Although the Guardians have traded plenty of players when they were at the same juncture in their career (Francisco Lindor being one of the biggest recent examples), president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said last week that expects Kwan to be a “big part” of what the Guardians are building for 2027. 

That may be true, but it’s hard to imagine they also aren’t working through some trade scenarios around Kwan, who had a dismal start to 2026 but posted an MLB-leading .445 on-base percentage from July on. And guess which team stands out as a clear suitor for what Kwan brings to the table? You guessed it, Terry Francona and the Cincinnati Reds. 

The Reds could be a sleeper team to watch around Steven Kwan

Francona and the Reds backslid last season to a 75-87 record in large part due to an outfield that combined for -5.3 wins above average, which was the third-worst mark in MLB. 

They have two fringe outfield pieces in JJ Bleday and Dane Myers, but the rest of the big league picture is pretty barren. The biggest thing that could gum up any potential talks between the two would be the financials, which ironically are the thing that seems to be keeping the Guardians from extending Kwan. 

Even though the Reds are going to have close to $41 million coming off their books for 2027, they also operate on one of the tightest budgets in MLB and don’t tend to be in the business of adding impending free agents with eight-figure contracts. 

But if there was a player who was going to make them act out of character, it’s going to be Kwan. Not only does he have that shared time with Francona, but he also gets on base at a high clip, which is something Reds president Nick Krall mentioned in his end-of-season press conference. 

A lot is going to happen this offseason, but it’s hard to imagine the Reds affinity for Kwan is going to go away any time soon.

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