Article: Blue Jays Trade Deadline Wish List: Steven Kwan Remains A Top Target

[Owen Hill]

The trade deadline is just one week away, and as sellers are starting to concede their playoff chances for this season, they’re making their expiring contracts available. At the same time, buyers are solidifying their wish lists, looking to make impact moves that will help them make a run deep into October. As the team with a current grasp on first place in the American League East, the Toronto Blue Jays are clearly in a position to check at least a couple of names off of that wish list.

Pitching, both in the starting rotation and bullpen, is expected to be the focus of the Jays’ shopping ahead of the July 31 deadline, but if the opportunity arises, there is absolutely space for an upgrade in the lineup. The list of available position players is much shorter than the list of pitchers, but the impact of adding a star player to a lineup could completely transform a team’s chances down the stretch.

One of those stars recently rumoured to be available for the right price is Steven Kwan of the Cleveland Guardians.

It’s a bit of a surprise to see his name in trade rumours considering that he’s arbitration eligible for two seasons after this one, and the 50-50 Guardians probably don’t see themselves as that far out of the playoff mix in a wide-open American League. Nonetheless, when Jeff Passan’s most recent list of top trade candidates dropped earlier this week, Steven Kwan’s name sat in second place.

Before we get too deep into the weeds and I convince you that Kwan would be the perfect Toronto Blue Jay, it’s important to be clear that Passan currently has the chances of Kwan getting moved at about 20 percent, and if it were to happen, the price in prospects would likely be nauseating for both fans and the Blue Jays front office.

But! Don’t let that stop you from dreaming a little bit. Think of yourself as the 16-year-old that lists a car at the top of their Christmas list, even if it’s more likely you end up with a new bike. All 30 teams can look at a 27 year old that’s been an All-Star in back-to-back seasons and say he’d fit well on the roster, but Kwan’s fit with the Jays is particularly tantalizing for a few reasons: His style of play would fit seamlessly with what the Jays already do well, he hits left handed, and he’d immediately put a stop to the revolving door in the leadoff spot.

Team Fit
Given the connections between Toronto’s front office and Cleveland’s, as well as a recent history of the two sides completing trades, it wouldn’t surprise me if the two were able to hook up on another deal. Part of the reason that the two sides have been able to get trades like the Andrés Giménez and Myles Straw deals done is that they value similar profiles in players. Steven Kwan Idealizes that profile.

The Jays are the best defensive team in baseball by many metrics, and adding Kwan who’s won three straight Gold Glove awards in the outfield would only build on that strength.

The Jays are also the team with the lowest strikeout percentage in baseball. It’s a stat that’s not nearly as sexy as leading the league in homers, but has helped the Toronto offense to punch well above its weight class, especially against teams that hit more home runs than them. Kwan is the poster boy for not striking out. His 8.3 strikeout percentage is the fourth lowest mark in baseball this season, just one spot ahead of Alejandro Kirk.

So much of the Blue Jays’ success this season has come from an unquantifiable buy-in from players up and down the roster to play clean baseball on both sides of the ball, and Kwan’s skillset would fit seamlessly.

I could understand an argument that because the Blue Jays are already so strong in Kwan’s most valuable skills that what he brings may be redundant, especially for the prince, but I’d say there’s often a lot of benefit to improving in areas of strength.

Left-Handed Hitter
That’s not to say that Kwan wouldn’t bring anything new to the Blue Jays. His left-handed bat would be a dynamic addition to the lineup, and would fundamentally change the way opposing teams have to game plan for the Jays. And I mean literally the fact that he hits left handed.

When you look at the Toronto lineup and see names like George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, and Alejandro Kirk hitting in the middle of it every day, it makes sense that their right handed hitters have the second highest wRC+ in baseball at 113, only second to the New York Yankees. However, while the Jays thrive in the right handed batter’s box, they leave a little bit to be desired from the left side. Their 101 wRC+ from lefties is just the 20th best mark in the league.

It makes sense when you think about all of the games missed from Giménez, Anthony Santander, and Daulton Varsho, and it’s important to recognize how well those holes have been plugged by the ascent of Addison Barger, Nathan Lukes, and more recently Joey Loperfido and Will Wagner.

Still, the injuries have left the Blue Jays without any real left handed hitting prowess, and certainly none that they trust against left handed pitching.

Although he’s not exactly split proof (his average goes from .301 against righties to .266 against lefties, and he hasn’t homered off of a lefty this season), Kwan is an obvious upgrade over both Lukes and Loperfido, and would provide a different look at the top of the Jays’ lineup, bringing me to my final selling point.

Leadoff Hitter
The Blue Jays 107 wRC+ out of the leadoff spot in 2025 ranks 17th among Major League teams. Bichette spent the first 80 or so games as the everyday leadoff hitter, but more recently has dropped down to the middle of the order in an attempt to give the lineup some length.

More recently, a platoon between Lukes against right handed starters and Clement against lefties has taken his place. In a small sample size of 43 plate appearances, Lukes has looked great in the role, but Clement has struggled to the tune of seven for 32. 

The result of having received contributions from so many players is that there isn’t a clear spot on the offensive side of the roster that looks desperate for an upgrade. There may be room for a right handed bench bat that can hit for power, that would essentially slide into the Davis Schneider role, but other than that, the lead off spot is the only non-solidified spot I see.

Kwan’s combination of bat-to-ball skills, on base skills, and speed make him the prototypical leadoff hitter, and that’s exactly the role he plays for the Guardians. He’d slide right into an everyday role in left field, and would allow the Jays to protect Lukes from left handed pitching, and avoid Clement getting exposed at the top of the order.

One final point to get you way too excited about the possibility of a Steven Kwan trade that’s very unlikely to happen: He gets it done in the playoffs. In 17 Postseason games, Kwan has hit .347 with an .830 OPS, exactly the type of numbers a contender wants to see when loading up for a run deep into the playoffs.

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[mphenhef]

I'm not sure that trading to bolster things that are already their strength is the way to go.  Sure the front office likes players exactly like Kwan, but I can't see him moving the dial that much nor being a top target for them.

[Hill]

I’m in. Short of a 30+ home run bat, this is the best thing they could do for the lineup. 

[Owen Hill]

5 hours ago, mphenhef said:

I'm not sure that trading to bolster things that are already their strength is the way to go.  Sure the front office likes players exactly like Kwan, but I can't see him moving the dial that much nor being a top target for them.

I think there's an argument to be made for sure, but Kwan is exactly the type of player this front office would ship out top prospects for and then extend on a big deal. And I think we have to realize just how good Kwan is, he'd be their second best player by fWAR this season.

[Stangstag]

1 hour ago, Owen Hill said:

I think there's an argument to be made for sure, but Kwan is exactly the type of player this front office would ship out top prospects for and then extend on a big deal. And I think we have to realize just how good Kwan is, he'd be their second best player by fWAR this season.

Yup I can see a Kwan deal making sense if some combo of Wagner/Lukes/Roden + a blue chip prospect is going the other way.

Also this kinda points to Santander being done for the year if they are looking at OF options

[John_Havok]

Pure speculation... but i guess that's what the trade deadline is for. 

If Kwan replaced Lukes... I guess that would be where he'd fit best right now, but then they'd still be looking for that RH bat off the bench, unless they've settled on Schneider being that guy

 

 

Kwan + Clase would be wonderful.

[Omar]

Isn't trading for Kwan giving you more of something you already have?  We need arms or we need a bopper that can go yard.  Need to address our deficiencies not buttress our strengths. 

[Pendleton]

49 minutes ago, John_Havok said:

Pure speculation... but i guess that's what the trade deadline is for. 

If Kwan replaced Lukes... I guess that would be where he'd fit best right now, but then they'd still be looking for that RH bat off the bench, unless they've settled on Schneider being that guy

 

 

Kwan + Clase would be wonderful.

Either one of Clase or Cade Smith

[John_Havok]

3 minutes ago, Omar said:

Isn't trading for Kwan giving you more of something you already have?  We need arms or we need a bopper that can go yard.  Need to address our deficiencies not buttress our strengths. 

I think it would help, as long as he actually replaces someone on the current roster, like Lukes or Loperfido and pushed the other to a nearly pure bench role...

It also wouldn't be a primary target kind of thing, just a "if we can... we may as well" kind of thing. 

[Pendleton]

Two homer day for Kwan in a 4-3 loss, need to rescue this guy 

[glory]

Kwan is like the dictionary definition of the type of player Atkins loves, so if it doesn't happen at the deadline, then I could see it happening at some point. Maybe the winter, or whenever the Guardians decide they want to go with a cheaper player.

[max silver]

1 hour ago, John_Havok said:

Pure speculation... but i guess that's what the trade deadline is for. 

If Kwan replaced Lukes... I guess that would be where he'd fit best right now, but then they'd still be looking for that RH bat off the bench, unless they've settled on Schneider being that guy

 

 

Kwan + Clase would be wonderful.

I don't tend to think that Kwan would represent enough of an upgrade to the club compared to what they already possess in house to make it worthwhile to pay the prospect cost of acquiring him. While the farm system is in dramatically better shape compared to a season ago at this time there aren't unlimited trade resources available. During the wild run up the standings the Blue Jays are MLB's second highest scoring team, being only a single run behind the first place Rays while playing one less game. I just don't see another left handed hitting outfielder being a huge priority given the somewhat pedestrian pitching staff that the team employs.