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Guardians' Steven Kwan: Responds to new spot in order
Rotowire
Kwan batted seventh and went 1-for-2 with a walk, a double, an RBI and a run scored in Tuesday's 4-3 win over the Tigers.
After years serving as the Guardians' primary leadoff batter, Kwan's early-season slump prompted a recent drop in the batting order. Over the last four games he's hit either sixth or seventh, and he's been an on-base machine, going 2-for-8 with eight walks and five runs scored. He's also provided the usual Gold Glove defense in left or center field. He told Tim Stebbins of MLB.com that his swing feels better, and he's being aggressive when appropriate. To Kwan's credit, the slump hasn't led to him chasing (91st percentile), and Kwan will take the free base (15.7 BB%) if pitchers aren't in the zone.
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Guardians' Steven Kwan: Dropped in order
Rotowire
Kwan batted sixth for a second straight game and went 0-for-2 with two walks and a run scored in Sunday's 10-3 win over the Reds.
It was 2022 the last time Kwan batted somewhere other than leadoff before this weekend's games against the Reds. He's responded to the move with a hit, four walks and three runs scored while the Guardians' offense erupted for 17 runs in wins over Cincinnati. A few weeks ago, Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt chalked up Kwan's slow start this season to a tough month, per Cade Cracas of SI.com, but three weeks later, the leadoff batter was slashing .201/.308/.258, so Vogt made the move. Daniel Schneemann has at least temporarily taken over the top spot in the order.
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Guardians' Steven Kwan: Rare day off Wednesday
Rotowire
Kwan is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's contest versus the Angels.
The left-handed-hitting Kwan will receive a rare day of rest as the Angels send southpaw Reid Detmers to the bump for Wednesday's matinee. David Fry, Angel Martinez and Chase DeLauter will form the Guardians' outfield trio in the series finale.
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Guardians' Steven Kwan: Logs two hits in win
Rotowire
Kwan went 2-for-3 with two walks, a double and two runs scored in Friday's 6-4 win over the Twins.
Kwan has hit safely in both games coming out of a day off Wednesday, going 3-for-7 with three walks. Prior to the day off, Kwan was mired in an 8-for-54 (.148) stretch over 16 games.
Kwan is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Royals.
After going 0-for-12 over his last three games, the left-handed-hitting Kwan will be given a chance to catch his breath Wednesday rather than going up against a tough left-hander in Royals ace Cole Ragans. Angel Martinez will step in in as the Guardians' left fielder and leadoff man in place of Kwan, who had started each of the previous nine contests.
Kwan started in center field and went 1-for-5 in Sunday's 4-2 loss to the Blue Jays.
Kwan had missed the last two games -- Friday was a planned day off and Saturday due to neck stiffness. He was back in the familiar leadoff spot, but less familiar is Kwan's career-low .225 average and .310 on-base percentage. A Gold Glove winner as a left fielder, Kwan has added center field to his resume this season, but manager Stephen Vogt deflected questions Saturday as to whether the new position is affecting Kwan's bat. In addition to the career lows in average and OBP, Kwan is below normal in hard-hit percentage (9.2) and average exit velocity (82.0 mph), and his percentage of weak contact has more than doubled compared to last year.
Kwan (neck) is leading off and starting in center field Sunday versus the Blue Jays.
Kwan didn't start Friday and was then a late scratch Saturday due to nick stiffness. However, the issue seems to have been minor given the outfielder's return one day later. Kwan will look to get back on track at the plate after going 2-for-18 over his previous seven contests.
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Guardians' Steven Kwan: No injury concerns
Rotowire
Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt told Tim Stebbins of MLB.com the decision to rest Kwan on Friday after Thursday's off day was not due to health. Kwan eventually entered Friday's 8-6 win over Toronto in the ninth inning as a defensive replacement.
Vogt said he was looking to get Kwan a two-day rest and using the off day was a way to accomplish that. In a related discussion, the manager downplayed the impact of Kwan playing both left and center field this season on the outfielder's offensive production. "I don't think it's affecting his bat by any means," Vogt said. "I think it's just a new workload for him that he's never had in the big leagues." Kwan carried a .227/.315/.289 slash line through 25 games into Friday. For comparison, he slashed .343/.398/.505 over the first 25 games in 2025.
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Guardians' Steven Kwan: Scratched with neck stiffness
Rotowire
Kwan was scratched from the lineup for Saturday's game against Toronto with a stiff neck, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.
Manager Stephen Vogt said that Kwan's absence Friday wasn't due to an injury, but a neck issue will prevent the 28-year-old from playing in Saturday's contest. Angel Martinez will shift to center field with Kwan out, opening up left field for George Valera.
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Guardians' Steven Kwan: Hitting bench Friday
Rotowire
Kwan is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Blue Jays, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.
Kwan has just two hits over the past five games and will head to the bench Friday for only the second time this season. George Valera will shift to left field while Chase DeLauter mans right field, opening up the DH spot for Rhys Hoskins.
Guardians' Angel Martinez: Not in Saturday's lineup
Rotowire
Martinez is not in the Guardians' starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Orioles.
Martinez will be on the bench for the beginning of Saturday's game after going 1-for-10 with five strikeouts over his last three outings. The Guardians will start George Valera, Steven Kwan and Chase DeLauter in the outfield from left to right.
Kwan went 0-for-4 with a walk, a stolen base and a run scored in Saturday's 6-0 win over Atlanta.
Kwan had a five-game hit streak snapped Saturday, but he managed to contribute to the offense. He walked, stole second base and scored during Cleveland's three-run ninth inning. It was the second steal of the season for the outfielder, who stole 21 bases (caught five times) in the 2025 regular season. Kwan is slashing .246/.338/.333 with three extra-base hits, seven walks, four RBI and eight runs through 15 games.
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Guardians' Steven Kwan: Exiting starting nine Sunday
Rotowire
Kwan is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against Atlanta.
Kwan will hit the bench for the first time all season after making 15 straight starts to kick off the campaign. Angel Martinez will draw a start in left field and will be replace Kwan as the Guardians' leadoff hitter in the series finale in Atlanta.
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