Guardians Announce Steven Kwan News After Removal From Lineup

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Gavin Groe | Last updated Apr 25, 2026 2:00 PM ET

The Cleveland Guardians have had a strong month of April, as the club sits in first place in the American League Central entering the weekend. Despite Cleveland’s success, they are missing contributions from one of their core players, Steven Kwan.

The 28-year-old is outfielder off to a slow start at the plate this year. Kwan owns a .227 batting average, .315 on-base percentage, .604 OPS, one home run and eight RBIs across 26 games.

While this is a small sample size, what makes it slightly concerning is that Kwan’s struggles date back to the second half of last year, where he was also a below-average hitter. For an offense like the Guardians that is desperate for any production it can get, Kwan’s inefficiency at the top has been a big disappointment.

Cleveland Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan (38) © Dennis Lee-Imagn Images

Kwan’s rough start took another unfortunate turn before Saturday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays. Kwan was originally listed to start at leadoff and in center field.

However, hours before first pitch, Kwan was scratched from the lineup. George Valera entered in his place, taking over in left field, with Angel Martinez shifting to center to fill the vacant spot. The Guardians announced that Kwan had been removed due to a stiff neck (h/t Tim Stebbins of MLB.com).

Kwan’s next chance to get back into action will be on Sunday for the series finale against Toronto. Despite Kwan’s struggles at the plate, he still remains one of the best defensive outfielders in MLB.

Steven Kwan was scratched with a stiff neck.

New lineup:

CF Martínez
DH DeLauter
3B Ramírez
1B Hoskins
LF Valera
RF Fry
2B Brito
C Naylor
SS Rocchio https://t.co/YSMochXUMP
— Tim Stebbins (@tim_stebbins) April 25, 2026

Across five seasons, Kwan has collected four Gold Glove Awards and two All-Star selections. Losing a player of his caliber would be hard for Cleveland to replace, so the hope is that this is not a long-term setback and will not require a stint on the injured list, ideally limiting the absence to just one missed game.

Kwan has spent his entire career with Cleveland since being selected in the fifth round of the 2018 MLB Draft and has routinely helped the organization reach the postseason during his tenure.

And for a team built on pitching and defense, getting Kwan back quickly remains one of Cleveland’s biggest priorities.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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