Phillies fans can forget trading for Guardians' Steven Kwan after high price revealed

Following the reveal of the Cleveland Guardians' high asking price for Steven Kwan, Philadelphia Phillies fans can forget the team trading for the outfielder. The Phillies would be trading away a potentially significant piece of their future in return.

According to Jim Salisbury, a PHLY Sports contributor and co-host of The Phillies Show podcast, the Phillies had trade discussions with the Guardians centered around Kwan leading up to this past season's trade deadline. However, Cleveland had a specific player they wanted whom Philadelphia appears to be unwilling to part with in a trade.

Guardians' asking price for Steven Kwan reportedly Phillies top infield prospect Aidan Miller

The Guardians wanted one of the Phillies' top prospects, shortstop Aidan Miller, in a trade for Kwan. Philadelphia has been adamant that Miller is one of the top young players the organization has plans for to be an integral part of the club's future.

"[The Phillies] were on [Steven Kwan] this summer, and I heard the Guardians would not get off the name Aidan Miller," Salisbury said of the Phillies' rumored interest in Kwan. "If they're still on that name, [the Phillies] probably aren't going to get [Kwan].

"He doesn't strike out, and that would be very appealing in this lineup to add a bat that doesn't strike out, but he also doesn't really slug. ... I would like to have a little bit of slug as well, and I'm concerned that he was below league average across the board offensively last year, but there's a lot to like there. I'm sure Cleveland's going to have a very high price on him."

Kwan is more of a contact hitter who puts the ball in play. That is not necessarily a negative trait for a player to have, but this kind of hitter has less of an impact in the modern game. Todd Zolecki mentioned that while Kwan is excellent defensively, the outfielder was below league average offensively last year. Kwan's 96 OPS+ and .705 OPS were the lowest of his four seasons in the majors. His 3.7 bWAR was lower than 2022 and 2024.

Miller is an exciting player in the Phillies system. He was exceptional in August and September this season after struggling earlier in the year in Double-A Reading.

The Dunedin, Florida, native received a promotion to Triple-A Lehigh Valley in September, ending his season with the IronPigs on a positive note, continuing to hit well and raising expectations for 2026. He had a 1.101 OPS and a .359/.504/.597 slash line over the final two months of the year.

While Kwan, who won his fourth consecutive Gold Glove Award this offseason, would certainly provide the Phillies with value defensively and improve their outfield depth, trading away Miller is a risky proposition.

However, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has indicated for a while that the franchise sees Miller contributing to the club down the line. Fans can forget about the possibility of them acquiring Kwan if that's who Cleveland wants in return in a trade with Philadelphia involving the multi-time All-Star outfielder.