This blockbuster trade could result in Steven Kwan staying with the Guardians 

On Thursday morning, the San Diego Padres shocked the baseball world by acquiring All-Star closer Mason Miller and starting pitcher J.P. Sears from the Athletics in exchange for top prospect Leo De Vries and pitching prospects Braden Nett, Henry Baez and Eduarniel Nunez. 

It’s a trade that signifies a lot of things.

First off, it shows that the Padres (who entered Wednesday holding onto the final Wild Card spot in the National League) are once again serious about dethroning the Dodgers. 

But secondly — and most important to Guardians fans — it also limits the amount of ammunition available in the Padres’ war chest, which should be music to every Guardians fan’s ears. 

San Diego’s trade for Mason Miller could result in Steven Kwan staying in Cleveland

While there was always some buzz around Kwan being moved at this year’s trade deadline, the buzz reached a fever pitch earlier this week after closer Emmanuel Clase was suspended as a part of MLB’s sports betting investigation. 

The Guardians have an understandably high asking price for Kwan, which means that there were only a handful of contenders who boast the prospect capital needed to acquire Kwan — the Padres being one of them. 

But that may no longer be the case after their acquisition of Miller and Sears, as The Athletic’s Dennis Lin reported earlier today that the Guardians’ ask for Kwan started with De Vries. 

De Vries, 18, is currently ranked as the No. 3 prospect in all of baseball per MLB Pipeline, is currently playing in High-A. He’s a switch-hitting shortstop who is oozing with potential and seems set to be a fast riser through the minors, and would be the centerpiece of any trade. 

But, instead of using him as the piece to go get Kwan, San Diego general manager AJ Preller elected to use him to shore up his bullpen as opposed to using him to go get Kwan. 

That doesn’t mean that he’s done moving, however. According to Lin in The Athletic’s live blog, Preller still wants to acquire a left field, and is still trying to nab Kwan from the Guardians. 

The Pades’ acquisition of Miller and Sears means that starting pitcher Dylan Cease and closer Robert Suarez are available, who could both serve as strong centerpieces in a potential deal. That said, the Guardians likely wouldn’t be interested in a rental like Cease, so they’d need to find a third team to include in the deal.

The three other teams that were linked the most to Kwan were the Blue Jays (who already acquired Shane Bieber earlier today), the Phillies (who traded away two big prospects for Jhoan Duran) and the Dodgers. 

The Miller deal has established the asking price for a controllable All-Star, and the Guardians won’t move away from that asking price, especially since they could always trade Kwan in the winter. 

No trade is made in a vacuum, and the Padres’ trade for Miller shows that. It may just be enough to keep Kwan in Cleveland.