Cardinals could find trade target in Guardians’ Gold Glove outfielder

Cardinals could find trade target in Guardians’ Gold Glove outfielder originally appeared on The Sporting News

Ahead of this season's trade deadline, the Cleveland Guardians' front office made a decision that raised eyebrows across the league: opting to field offers for outfielder Steven Kwan.

Kwan, along with starting pitcher Shane Bieber and closer Emmanuel Clase, was among the players the Guardians were looking to offload, even though they were on the cusp of a playoff spot. But despite the interest Kwan drew from other teams, a deal was not struck, and he remained in Cleveland.

That could change this winter, though, if the Guardians are still wanting to let Kwan go.

Kwan likened to idealized version of young outfielder on Cardinals' roster

Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller recently put out a list of MLB stars likely to get traded this offseason. Kwan, unsurprisingly, was on it.

"Kwan is a three-time reigning Gold Glove recipient who is probably headed for a fourth such honor. And though he has yet to come all that close to winning a batting title, he goes through these stretches every year in which he reels off multiple-hit games seemingly four times a week for well over a month," Miller wrote.

"He's not a slugger by any stretch of the imagination, but he'll homer on occasion and provides value in every other facet of the game. Cleveland's reluctance to pay around $10M per year for the next two seasons for a guy who would easily fetch double that in free agency could be some team's huge gain."

St. Louis Cardinals on SI's Zach Pressnell, specifically, believes Kwan would be a good fit for the Missouri-based club, as well as an upgrade over Victor Scott II, the team's current starter in center field.

"Scott and Kwan are very similar players, though Scott grades out as a slightly better defender. Even then, Kwan seems headed for his fourth Gold Glove in as many seasons. Kwan is a consistent .740-plus OPS hitter with the ability to hit over .300 in any given season. While batting average is slowly becoming a thing of the past, it indicates that Kwan is one of the best pure hitters in baseball," Pressnell wrote. "The Cardinals have a lot of question marks in the outfield right now, but swinging a big offseason trade for the Guardians star would shore up one of the three outfield spots for the foreseeable future."

Through 119 games this season, Kwan has put together a .278/.338/.392 slash line with 10 home runs, 40 RBIs, 63 runs scored and 14 stolen bases.