The Cleveland Guardians have made it clear once again that they have no interest in spending money this offseason, so in order to improve the roster, it might have to come exclusively via trades. It has been a slow-moving offseason around the league as the 2027 lockout hanging over MLB’s head may be scaring teams off from getting into too many long-term commitments, but the Guardians still have to do their best to put a great team on the field in 2026.
Cleveland still has major voids to fill on the roster, as the team still needs a big bat or two and could use more help in the starting rotation. If the Guardians plan on filling those voids, they might have to get creative, and one analyst recently proposed a trade that would help the rotation, but would certainly sting quite a bit.
Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report recently wrote an article featuring a few trade ideas league-wide, and he brought one up for the Guardians that would hurt, but could help the team. He proposed a deal that would send Steven Kwan to the Cincinnati Reds for a package centered around starter Brady Singer, with Rece Hinds and Hector Rodriguez joining him in Cleveland as well.
To CIN: OF Steven Kwan
To CLE: RHP Brady Singer, OF Rece Hinds, OF Hector Rodriguez
“Kwan saw his salary jump from the league minimum to $4.175 million last season in his first year of arbitration, and that figure is projected to more than double to $8.8 million in 2026. That’s a big number for a penny-pinching Cleveland organization, and if they don’t intend to lock him up long-term, now could be the time to flip him. Brady Singer is a one-year rental, but he would join Gavin Williams and Tanner Bibee at the top of the rotation and would amount to roughly a $3 million addition to the payroll when balanced with Kwan’s projected salary. Meanwhile, Rece Hinds and Hector Rodriguez provide two more candidates to fill out the Cleveland outfield, as they would join Chase DeLauter, George Valera, Nolan Jones, Johnathan Rodríguez and others in the battle for outfield playing time,” Reuter wrote.
For a team that is coming off such a disastrous season at the plate, dealing away one of the very few proven hitters on the roster would be tough to stomach. Kwan is a perennial All-Star and one of the best defensive outfielders in baseball, so losing him would put a lot of pressure on everyone else to step up in his absence, as Reuter noted.
DeLauter would likely be the one who’d be first in line to replace Kwan’s bat, but even though many prospects haven’t surfaced yet, help could be on the way very soon for the Guardians from the minors. With some younger guys beginning to surface, it could be enough to help stomach losing two more years of control on Kwan.
Cincy has plenty of high-end starting pitching depth, so it’s not hard to see why the Reds would be interested in moving out of their rotation to bring in a perennial All-Star outfielder. This is an interesting idea overall, and fans should keep an eye out to see if anything like this comes to fruition in the coming weeks.
NEXT: Guardians Named Favorites To Sign Interesting Pitching Prospect
