Turns out, teams interested in Kwan included the Guardians

CLEVELAND -- What started as an active Trade Deadline day for the Guardians ended quietly as the clock hit 6 p.m. ET on Thursday.

Cleveland dealt Shane Bieber to the Blue Jays and Paul Sewald to the Tigers on Thursday morning, but it ultimately kept All-Star left fielder Steven Kwan following days of speculation. Kwan and Bieber were each mentioned in the rumor mill this week, though their situations were different and played out as such.

• Guardians move Bieber, Sewald

Kwan was linked to teams such as the Dodgers, Padres, Phillies and Blue Jays. The 27-year-old is under club contractual control through 2027, meaning -- unlike with a player who is set to become a free agent -- the Guardians did not have to move him this week in an attempt to recoup value. They were in a position to set their price and not come off of it.

The Guardians are better with Kwan, and they can revisit his market over the offseason, if they desire.

“What I can confirm for Steven is that not only do we have a profound appreciation for what he's able to contribute on the baseball field and in the clubhouse,” Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said Thursday, “but so does the rest of Major League Baseball. We are really excited that he will continue to be with us moving forward.”

Cleveland also could revisit contract extension talks with Kwan this winter. He acknowledged on Wednesday that the Guardians typically hold those conversations in Spring Training, and that having them in-season could be a distraction. But he has maintained his openness to it.

The Guardians acquired pitching prospect Khal Stephen for Bieber, who has been on the comeback trail from April 2024 Tommy John surgery. If the Guardians kept Bieber through the Deadline and he declined his $16 million player option for ’26 this offseason, they could have assigned him a qualifying offer.

Then, if Bieber declined that and signed elsewhere, the Guardians would have received a compensation pick in the 2026 Draft. Instead, they moved him now in exchange for a prospect whom they previously were interested in.

The Guardians wanted to select Stephen in the 2024 MLB Draft, Antonetti said, but the Jays beat them to it and landed him with No. 59 overall pick.

“We think he's a guy that's capable of not only logging innings at the Major League level but pitching pretty effectively,” Antonetti said. “We'll be excited to continue to partner with Khal and his development as he progresses toward that.”

MLB Pipeline ranked Stephen as the Guardians’ No. 7 prospect. He went on the injured list last week with a right shoulder impingement but has resumed throwing.

The 22-year-old has a 2.06 ERA and 99 strikeouts over 91 2/3 innings in 18 games (17 starts) between Single-A, High-A and Double-A this season. He’s expected to join Double-A Akron when he’s ready to return to game action.

Bieber is trending toward an early to mid-August return to the Majors. He could have provided the Guardians a boost down the stretch, but they will instead count on a rotation that ranks sixth in the Majors in ERA (3.84) and second in innings (290 2/3) since June 1.

The pitching staff will not include Luis Ortiz for the foreseeable future, nor closer Emmanuel Clase. Both are on non-disciplinary paid leave through Aug. 31 amid an ongoing MLB investigation.

Clase was Cleveland’s top trade chip, but he effectively could not be dealt after he went on leave. Whether Cleveland would have moved him, it’s easy to wonder what might have been, certainly after seeing the market for other closers this week.

“There are a lot of different considerations that we had to weigh around this time of year. The unexpected developments recently were certainly one of them,” Antonetti said when asked about Ortiz and Clase.

“But in the end, I think we feel good about the roster that we have for the balance of 2025 and are excited about our future.”

The Guardians (54-54) are 14-6 since their 10-game skid that spanned June 26-July 6. They entered Thursday 2 1/2 games behind the Mariners and Rangers (57-52) for the final American League Wild Card spot. Seattle and Texas each made substantial Deadline additions.

Cleveland will count on a group that largely went unchanged for the stretch run -- with potential reinforcements looming in the Minors, such as slugger C.J. Kayfus (Guardians’ No. 4 prospect, No. 66 overall).

“We continue to believe in the group of players that are here,” Antonetti said. “Not just at the Major League level, but players that we think can possibly contribute from the upper levels of our Minor League system.

“So, hopefully, we play our best baseball from here on out and make things interesting heading into September.”