The Cleveland Guardians are reportedly in seller mode heading into Thursday’s MLB trade deadline. Cleveland appear to want to hit the reset button on their roster and stock up on young talent and two players currently on the squad will help them do so.
Despite being 3.5 games out of the last Wild Card spot, the Guardians could be thinking long-term instead of short when it comes to players like Steven Kwan, who is in high demand this deadline as teams are looking to bolster their outfield options for a push to the postseason and World Series run.
On Wednesday, MLB.com’s senior national reporter, Mark Feinsand, reported, citing a source, that Cleveland are “trying to move” Kwan and Shane Bieber.
The Guardians are “trying to move” both Steven Kwan and Shane Bieber, per source. Bieber made his fourth rehab start on Tuesday, striking out seven with no walks in four innings. He’s returning from April 2024 Tommy John surgery and has a $16M player option ($4M buyout) for 2026.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) July 30, 2025
This news comes after Bieber took the mound for his fourth rehab outing Tuesday, pitching four innings with seven strikeouts and no walks.
Interested MLB teams must determine whether what they see from the right-hander, who underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2024, is worth pursuing to add an extra arm in the rotation. Moreover, the report from Feinsand mentions that Bieber has a $16 million player option for 2026 that includes a $4 million buyout.
MORE: Guardians seeing 'aggressive' pursuit for Steven Kwan from Mets, Phillies
As for Kwan, he was an All-Star this season and is batting .286 with nine home runs and 38 RBI. The 27-year-old is under team control for two more seasons as the player won’t be heading to free agency until 2028, per Spotrac.
While the Guardians don’t have to move Kwan, now could be the right moment to sell and garner a significant haul of prospects as teams understand that they can have the outfielder on their roster for a considerable amount of time.