The Milwaukee Brewers Have Enquired About Steven Kwan

[brewerfan82]

2 minutes ago, Bango said:

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.

And once they add Suarez, it'll look like this 😉:

 

Kwan LF

Chourio CF

Yelich DH

Suarez 3B

Vaughn/Hoskins 1B

Contreras/Jansen C

Frelick RF

Turang SS

Durbin/Collins 2B

[Jason Wang]

if steven kwan signs with the brewers I will finally have a reason to buy my first jersey and that alone should be reason enough for the team to sign him!

[markedman5]

Yeah I see no chance they are moving Sal……he’s been great and the whole chemistry thing would be horrible.

I agree that if they somehow got Kwan it would be to move Collins to 2nd and Turang to SS.

There just is no way they are going to give up significant pieces to replace Collins with Kwan…….Kwan is very good……but Collins has been fantastic…..and he’s a switch hitter.

I’ll believe it when I see it. 

[Harold Hutchison]

10 hours ago, wiguy94 said:

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.

Who says Collins comes out? Brewers get Kwan, they put him in left. Collins moves to right, Frelick to third, Durbin to second, Turang to short, Ortiz to the bench.

[brewerfan82]

2 minutes ago, Harold Hutchison said:

Who says Collins comes out? Brewers get Kwan, they put him in left. Collins moves to right, Frelick to third, Durbin to second, Turang to short, Ortiz to the bench.

Don't forget Yelich to 1st, Vaughn to catcher, and Siegler to DH!

[jay87shot]

I love Kwan but the only way this makes sense is the before mentioned move of Collins to 2B and Turang to SS. I do really like that move but 110 games in with both Turang and Collins having minimal time at each doesn't make sense. If this was the offseason, yes I get it.

Getting a player like Kwan is going to cost more a bunch than we got for Burnes. Think close to what the White Sox got for Crochet. I would guess the Guardians ask for Pratt, Henderson/Patrick, Adams/Lara/Wilken, and a lower level teenage pitcher. In turn I would think we decline.

[wallus]

I wouldn't be willing to pay the price that it will take to get Kwan.

[Jim French Stepstool]

1 hour ago, jay87shot said:

I love Kwan but the only way this makes sense is the before mentioned move of Collins to 2B and Turang to SS. I do really like that move but 110 games in with both Turang and Collins having minimal time at each doesn't make sense. If this was the offseason, yes I get it.

 

This. IMO there's no way they play musical chairs like that, two-thirds of the way into a contending season. Yet it continues to be proposed.

I'd acknowledge it could happen in an off-season, but even then I'd think Durbin to 2B & Turang to SS is much more likely. To me Collins profiles as a much, much better OFer than a 2B.

[Platoon Power]

1 hour ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

This. IMO there's no way they play musical chairs like that, two-thirds of the way into a contending season. Yet it continues to be proposed.

I'd acknowledge it could happen in an off-season, but even then I'd think Durbin to 2B & Turang to SS is much more likely. To me Collins profiles as a much, much better OFer than a 2B.

Didn't the Brewers move Travis Shaw to 2B after we traded for Moustakas? That's more drastic than this idea when you consider Shaw / Moustakas hadn't played 2B in years prior to that deal. This sounds like the type of creative move the Brewers would do and why they value versatility so much.  I believe the sudden interest in left fielders is because Matt Arnold has a vision of using Isaac Collins like he used Ben Zobrist when he was on the Rays.  Is the defensive downgrade going from Ortiz -> Turang and Turang -> Collins that significant that it would outweigh replacing Ortiz's bat with someone like Kwan or O'Hearn's?  Color me skeptical with how lost Ortiz has looked once again.  

[Harold Hutchison]

13 hours ago, wallus said:

I wouldn't be willing to pay the price that it will take to get Kwan.

Agreed. I'd rather send Brock Wilken to the Twins for Castro, $1.5 million in international bonus moneyand their 2026 competitive balance pick than get Kwan.

[umphrey]

I can't decide if it's a good thing or a bad thing but we would have all 3 OF spots locked down for 3 years. No prospects, FAs, platoons, anything unless there was an injury. 

[StearnsFTW]

14 hours ago, jay87shot said:

I love Kwan but the only way this makes sense is the before mentioned move of Collins to 2B and Turang to SS. I do really like that move but 110 games in with both Turang and Collins having minimal time at each doesn't make sense. If this was the offseason, yes I get it.

Getting a player like Kwan is going to cost more a bunch than we got for Burnes. Think close to what the White Sox got for Crochet. I would guess the Guardians ask for Pratt, Henderson/Patrick, Adams/Lara/Wilken, and a lower level teenage pitcher. In turn I would think we decline.

I'd do Pratt/Patrick/Wilken easily and I don't even like Kwan that much.   I think it would be more than what you lay out here.

 

[Jim French Stepstool]

10 hours ago, Platoon Power said:

Didn't the Brewers move Travis Shaw to 2B after we traded for Moustakas? That's more drastic than this idea when you consider Shaw / Moustakas hadn't played 2B in years prior to that deal. This sounds like the type of creative move the Brewers would do and why they value versatility so much.  I believe the sudden interest in left fielders is because Matt Arnold has a vision of using Isaac Collins like he used Ben Zobrist when he was on the Rays.  Is the defensive downgrade going from Ortiz -> Turang and Turang -> Collins that significant that it would outweigh replacing Ortiz's bat with someone like Kwan or O'Hearn's?  Color me skeptical with how lost Ortiz has looked once again.  

Shaw playing 2B in '18 was in the era of the drastic shifting, so it was much easier to play him there when his range wasn't nearly as big of a factor.

Potentially I think it could be quite a downgrade defensively, yes. You'd be replacing a platinum glove winning 2B with someone who hasn't played there all season, and IMO no matter how Turang performs at SS it would be hard to match the level Ortiz is playing at. Yes, they value versatility. But they greatly value run prevention too, and it's gotten them to something like a 97-win pace. It would be kind of like robbing Peter to pay Paul, and I just don't see them doing that.

Certainly can't defend Ortiz on the offensive end though. He seemed to be finding it, then lost it again just as quickly.

[TURBO]

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports that the Guardians are “trying” to move Steven Kwan and Shane Dieber before the July 31 trade deadline.

 

There’s been plenty of talk about the Guardians being willing to move Kwan, but now it sounds like it’s a priority; perhaps in an effort to “sell high” on the outfielder. Bieber also makes sense as a player who makes money for a team that doesn’t like spending it and is on the outskirts of contention. The right-hander is returning from Tommy John surgery and has completed four rehab starts, so he could help a team for the playoff push. He also has a $16 million club options and $4 million buyout for 2026.

 

Source: Mark Feinsand

[TURBO]

58 minutes ago, umphrey said:

I can't decide if it's a good thing or a bad thing but we would have all 3 OF spots locked down for 3 years. No prospects, FAs, platoons, anything unless there was an injury. 

Don't we have that now with Collins, Chourio and Frelick?

I think there are people on this board who are forgetting what Collins has done for us this year.

[umphrey]

38 minutes ago, TURBO said:

Don't we have that now with Collins, Chourio and Frelick?

I think there are people on this board who are forgetting what Collins has done for us this year.

I hope so but I don't trust most guys until about half way into year 2. Too many Hiura's out there. 

[Scooterfletcher]

This is the guy to get if you want better World Series odds, my brewer compadres.   If we can get him without giving up Made, Pena, Pratt, Henderson and can instead make the deal Patrick, Myers, Boeve, Black, Wichowski then we have to pull the trigger .

[BrewerFan]

On 7/29/2025 at 10:27 AM, Lloyd330 said:

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

 

No, he's not. 

1-Again, Suarez is a RENTAL. You do get that right? So he has a bad series and he's gone. Kwan is here for 4 post-season runs(OR 3 and they trade him in ~2 years and recoup some of their prospect capital).

2-Suarez strikes out a LOT. Led the league 3 times in the last 3-4 years before this year. What happens in the playoffs? You get more or LESS pitchers with high K rates? Kwan is another guy who doesn't strike out, has very good speed, is hitting for more(but not a ton) of power and is FAR more likely in a tight game to get a runner in than Suarez. 

The entire argument for Suarez is that despite the poor BA, OBP and only being a rental, he's a bigger upgrade than the Gold Glover who hits, gets on base at a much higher clip because...we're hoping Suarez can win a game with a HR. Kwan impacts the game in all facets positively. 

3-You can also move Collins to 2B and Turang to SS, right? You still have VERY good defense with a GG OFer where as Suarez is a poor defender at 3B. 

Then just the facts based on their performance. Lets compare recent performance;

[BrewerFan]

13 hours ago, Harold Hutchison said:

Agreed. I'd rather send Brock Wilken to the Twins for Castro, $1.5 million in international bonus moneyand their 2026 competitive balance pick than get Kwan.

I don't think a team can trade more than 250K per trade in IFA bonus room...

And I don't think you're getting back a pick and 1.5 in IFA bonus room for Wilken even if it was legal. 

 

But you also want to move Frelick to 3B... so you kinda march to the beat of our own Drummer Harold. 

You KNOW they're not moving Frelick to 3B at this point in the year. If this was ST, MAYBE. Murphy did talk about how shocked we'd be...before injuries hit. 

Not with the best record in the league. That'd be foolish. 

[Austin Tatious]

I like Kwan a lot.  He and Frelick are good comps for each other.  These are winning players.  

Doesn’t bother me because it’s not like basketball where it’s hard to play two centers or two point guards at the same time. They can play together.  He’s a complicated acquisition though.  He’s only controlled through 2027 and will require assets going back. If there’s a plan to extend him in due course like you did eventually with Yelich, it would be worth the capital going back IMO.  

[Jake McKibbin]

 

[KCBrewerfan34]

If true, we’re not getting Kwan unless the price comes down some. 

[wallus]

1 hour ago, Jake McKibbin said:

 

Yeah we shouldn't be in that market at that price

[ReverendBrewmeister]

I wouldn't hate adding Kwan, as he is a quality player and has some further years of control.

But if I'm looking to obtain an outfielder at the anticipated cost of prospects, I want at least one of the two aspects: (1) a bat that projects to 20+ HR in a season or (2) a glove that projects to being a starting CF. Of course, having both would be optimal. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I just don't see Kwan meeting either of those.

So then you're looking at having Kwan in LF and Frelick in RF, where neither of the corner outfielders are power bats. (We already have that with Collins in LF and Frelick in RF.) That would seem to do nothing to the lack of power, which seems like the area where the lineup actually needs improvement.