The New York Yankees keep saying they want more contact. SNY MLB analyst Anthony McCarron suggests the cleanest way to get it is via a trade with the Cleveland Guardians for Steven Kwan.
He’s not built like a Bronx bomber, but he does the two things this Yankees lineup lacks most: he gets on base and he puts balls in play.
Kwan finished seventh in the American League with 170 hits last season and struck out just 8.7 percent of the time. He owns a.351 career OBP, it dipped to.330 last year, and he’s an efficient runner, 80.7 percent in 2025.
Put him in front of Aaron Judge and let physics handle the rest.
The fit in left field is obvious.
Yankee Stadium’s left field is a minefield, and Kwan has won four straight Gold Gloves out there. Range, reads, routes—he turns tough plays into routine ones and saves a pitching staff real runs over a season.
The catch is cost.
Cleveland isn’t shopping Kwan, but the Guardians have a history of making tough arbitration-window trades if the return is right. For New York, that probably means a headliner position prospect like Spencer Jones, plus a pitching piece the Guardians can develop, and a third asset to balance years of control.
Why do it? Because it changes the shape of the offense.
The Yankees need traffic for the middle of the order, not just another.200-with-thump bat.
Kwan gives them a real leadoff option, a contact profile that travels in October, and run prevention every night in left. It’s not the sexiest of moves, but it’s the kind of sensible addition that can nudge a 90-win team toward 95 and make a difference in October.
If New York is serious about diversifying the offense, Kwan is the most on-brand solution.