The Milwaukee Brewers Have Enquired About Steven Kwan

[Jake McKibbin]

The Brewers have gone where they'd be least expected with (excuse the pun) a left field approach for Steven Kwan of the Guardians per the Moccbomb twitter account.

Steven Kwan is a Gold Glover in left field who fits the Sal Frelick mold from the left-hand side. He doesn't swing and miss, doesn't strike out, takes his walks, and has shown more power over the last two seasons than many expected out of him. He's posting a .762 OPS so far in 2025 with a .351 on-base percentage and nine home runs so far.

Kwan is arbitration eligible in 2026, meaning the Brewers would have control of the Guardians outfield star for three years after the conclusion of this season. Would they truly entertain such a move? Are they more concerned about their outfield depth than we realise?

Kwan fits the Brewers player profile to a T, but there remains a question of whether the Brewers need more of that archetype in their line-up. He also would be incredibly costly than to the years of control remaining. 

Could the Brewers seriously make this move? How would Kwan fit into the Brewers setup?  Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Editor's Note: The Twitter account MoccBomb has been correct in the past, though is somewhat unreliable compared to other rumormongers. 

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[Brewer77]

I’d love to add Kwan, but the fit is tough with the emergence of Collins. It’d be great if Collins could play some on the left side of the infield, but he looks more like a 2B if he’s playing infield 

[Lloyd330]

He is basically Frelick's double-   Unless he is a big upgrade at Defense over Collins dont see the reason why. 

[Scooterfletcher]

I would definitely pay for Kwan rather than a rental in Suarez.   Kwan is a guy we can win with.   If we have to spend a starting pitcher or two, this is the guy I want.

Patrick, Lara, Hunt for Kwan. 

[Lloyd330]

4 minutes ago, Scooterfletcher said:

I would definitely pay for Kwan rather than a rental in Suarez.   Kwan is a guy we can win with.   If we have to spend a starting pitcher or two, this is the guy I want.

Patrick, Lara, Hunt for Kwan. 

So you rather get a guy that is very similar to what we already have, then a guy who is a true difference maker

[Brewer77]

3 minutes ago, Scooterfletcher said:

I would definitely pay for Kwan rather than a rental in Suarez.   Kwan is a guy we can win with.   If we have to spend a starting pitcher or two, this is the guy I want.

Patrick, Lara, Hunt for Kwan. 

Kwan is a 4+ win player. You’re going to have to give up more high end talent than that

[Lloyd330]

If we trade for Kwan, that means Yelich will be our permanent DH, which means Vaughn and Hoskins will be in a platoon role. 

[SRB]

I love Kwan, but this seems like a made-up rumor from a few days ago when uninformed pundits thought we needed an OF because Frelick was briefly on the IL.

 

Kwan-Chourio-Frelick sure would be a fun outfield though. Maybe Yelich can start playing some 1B? Has that ever been explored?

[Jake McKibbin]

21 minutes ago, SRB said:

I love Kwan, but this seems like a made-up rumor from a few days ago when uninformed pundits thought we needed an OF because Frelick was briefly on the IL.

 

Kwan-Chourio-Frelick sure would be a fun outfield though. Maybe Yelich can start playing some 1B? Has that ever been explored?

Moccbomb is usually very astute on these rumors, and with a good track record. Its possible the brewers enquired without expecting much after that (he does fit their archetype sublimely well) but as a 4+ WAR player for three and a half year of team control, the price will be extensive and likely headlined by a Luis Pena + more (Sorry scooter, Patrick won't cut the mustard here)

He's a good source is what I mean to say anyway, but I doubt the brewers will compete as hard for him as say, the Phillies

[Scooterfletcher]

26 minutes ago, Lloyd330 said:

So you rather get a guy that is very similar to what we already have, then a guy who is a true difference maker

Kwan is more of a difference maker than Suarez and we win more in the post season with Kwan than Suarez.   No question.

[brewerfan82]

42 minutes ago, Scooterfletcher said:

Kwan is more of a difference maker than Suarez and we win more in the post season with Kwan than Suarez.   No question.

I'm not sure this is a given. Picking up Suarez (143 wRC+, 3.1 WAR) bumps down playing time on guys like Durbin (105 wRC+), Ortiz (61), or Monasterio (59), while picking up Kwan (115 wRC+, 2.7 WAR) bumps down playing time on guys like Collins (128 wRC+), Perkins (83), Frelick (119), Yelich (119), Hoskins (115), or Vaughn (78 overall, 208 with Brewers).

Even if you think this year is an outlier, going the couple seasons prior Kwan and Suarez' production is pretty similar, but it's the guys you're replacing on the roster that makes Suarez a better fit to improve the roster overall.

2025:

2023-24:

[Scooterfletcher]

17 minutes ago, Jake McKibbin said:

Moccbomb is usually very astute on these rumors, and with a good track record. Its possible the brewers enquired without expecting much after that (he does fit their archetype sublimely well) but as a 4+ WAR player for three and a half year of team control, the price will be extensive and likely headlined by a Luis Pena + more (Sorry scooter, Patrick won't cut the mustard here)

He's a good source is what I mean to say anyway, but I doubt the brewers will compete as hard for him as say, the Phillies

 

Nah he wouldn’t take Pena.   Maybe sub Henderson in for Patrick is my offer but it wouldn’t take more than that.  

[Lloyd330]

21 minutes ago, Scooterfletcher said:

Kwan is more of a difference maker than Suarez and we win more in the post season with Kwan than Suarez.   No question.

Not a chance - 

Kwan is much closer to collins than Suarez is to Durbin

But i also have Durbin moving to 2b and Turang to SS if they trade for Suarez

 

[Jake McKibbin]

3 minutes ago, Scooterfletcher said:

Nah he wouldn’t take Pena.   Maybe sub Henderson in for Patrick is my offer but it wouldn’t take more than that.  

I'm not saying the Brewers need him enough to offer that, but he'll cost three top 10 prospects, and two in the top 6/7 I'd imagine.

Henderson is what the D'backs want for 2 months of Suarez (which is a little steep) but three and a half years of a 4 WAR player as consistent as Kwan would take a big package 

[Scooterfletcher]

1 minute ago, Jake McKibbin said:

I'm not saying the Brewers need him enough to offer that, but he'll cost three top 10 prospects, and two in the top 6/7 I'd imagine.

Henderson is what the D'backs want for 2 months of Suarez (which is a little steep) but three and a half years of a 4 WAR player as consistent as Kwan would take a big package 

Henderson and Lara are top ten guys and Wichowski a good starting pitching prospect that might be top ten in some systems (but not in a top two in the game system).   

[Jake McKibbin]

1 minute ago, Scooterfletcher said:

Henderson and Lara are top ten guys and Wichowski a good starting pitching prospect that might be top ten in some systems (but not in a top two in the game system).   

There's a strong possibility none of those players have a four WAR season in their future

Wichrowski still has a lot of work-ons, Lara isn't showing the ability to elevate his hardest contact and Henderson is a two pitch guy still learning a glove side offering

If that was the price, the Brewers would be paying whether they needed him or not

[adambr2]

54 minutes ago, Lloyd330 said:

So you rather get a guy that is very similar to what we already have, then a guy who is a true difference maker

With all respect to Frelick - Kwan is better. And even if they’re similar, adding another Frelick to the roster makes us better.

If you don’t think Kwan is a difference maker, I’d be curious to know who your realistic trade targets are. 

[yfinn6]

2 minutes ago, Jake McKibbin said:

There's a strong possibility none of those players have a four WAR season in their future

Wichrowski still has a lot of work-ons, Lara isn't showing the ability to elevate his hardest contact and Henderson is a two pitch guy still learning a glove side offering

If that was the price, the Brewers would be paying whether they needed him or not

You'll have to excuse Scoot; he has some seriously unreal expectations of our prospects. 

[Jake McKibbin]

Just now, yfinn6 said:

You'll have to excuse Scoot; he has some seriously unreal expectations of our prospects. 

Absolutely, though while I may disagree I would love for him to be proven right!

Always good to have some diverse opinions, especially the optimists

[Lloyd330]

10 minutes ago, adambr2 said:

With all respect to Frelick - Kwan is better. And even if they’re similar, adding another Frelick to the roster makes us better.

If you don’t think Kwan is a difference maker, I’d be curious to know who your realistic trade targets are. 

Suarez is the only true difference maker

Maikel Garcia would be more of a difference maker than Kwan

[wibadgers23]

Jose Ramirez would make a lot more sense if we're doing business with Cleveland but I wouldn't be mad if they got Kwan.  Under contract for a couple more years too.

[wiguy94]

This doesn't make much sense for the Brewers. Taking Collins out of the lineup does not make the Brewers better. Kwan's defense would also take a dip in Milwaukee because so much of his defensive value comes from how well he plays the big LF wall in Cleveland to use his arm as a weapon.

[brewerfan82]

Kwan makes a lot more sense if... Collins, Perkins, or Frelick are being dangled in another trade (or I 'spose in return for Kwan, but that's not as fun 😉).

[long ball]

1 hour ago, Brewer77 said:

I’d love to add Kwan, but the fit is tough with the emergence of Collins. It’d be great if Collins could play some on the left side of the infield, but he looks more like a 2B if he’s playing infield 

Unless Collins or Frelick were involved in the trade. I’d balk at including Frelick due to the difference in control. I would be willing to include Collins if Cleveland were interested. 
 

we have seen the brewers be creative in the past (mostly 2018) when it comes to deadline deals. 
 

Is it possible they’d be willing to play Collins at second and Turang to SS for the remainder of the season? I know dans have liked to poo pop the idea of Turang playing SS, but I’d trust the team if they decided to roll with something like this. 

[Bango]

18 minutes ago, long ball said:

Unless Collins or Frelick were involved in the trade. I’d balk at including Frelick due to the difference in control. I would be willing to include Collins if Cleveland were interested. 
 

we have seen the brewers be creative in the past (mostly 2018) when it comes to deadline deals. 
 

Is it possible they’d be willing to play Collins at second and Turang to SS for the remainder of the season? I know dans have liked to poo pop the idea of Turang playing SS, but I’d trust the team if they decided to roll with something like this. 

I was just looking at that possibility. Collins has had very little time at 2B recently… so I can’t speak to his metrics. However… that would allow a lineup that looks something like this: 

Kwan LF

Chourio CF

Yelich DH

Vaughn 1B

Contreras C

Frelick RF

Turang SS

Collins 2B

Durbin 3B

In the words of Adam Sandler.., not too shabby.