All signs are pointing towards the Philadelphia Phillies being one of the more aggressive buyers at next week's MLB trade deadline. This is truly a World Series-or-bust season for the team, who is repeating their cycle of being in the thick of the NL East race by the end of July.
If they want to capture their first pennant since 2022, the Phillies must be creative at the deadline to rise above the National League's other contenders. That entails forking up top prospects and maybe even overpaying for elite talent, such as the Cleveland Guardians' Steven Kwan, who's showcasing his skills at the perfect time.
Steven Kwan's multi-homer performance gave the Phillies even more incentive to trade for him
Though he's typically known as more of a high-contact guy, Kwan slugged two home runs for the first multi-home run game of his career in the Guardians' 4-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.
Steven Kwan goes deep for the second time today, his first career multi-HR game!#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/W5BkqALjaP
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) July 24, 2025
For his career, the 27-year-old Kwan is a career .285/.358/.398 hitter who boasts excellent bat-to-ball skills. He's got an incredibly low career strikeout rate of 9.5 percent, with his 8.3 percent this year on pace to be a personal best. It's not hard to see why the Phillies would be interested in Kwan when you combine his pristine ability to put the ball in play and Gold Glove defense in left field, two things the team is lacking.
With the Phillies needing upgrades at multiple outfield positions, trading for a proven star like Kwan would instantly improve their outfield situation. MLB insider Jon Heyman confirmed the Phillies' interest in Kwan, though it doesn't seem all that likely that Cleveland will part with him.
It would understandably take a large haul for the Phillies to acquire a controllable two-time All-Star with multiple Silver Sluggers and Gold Gloves under his belt. After all, Cleveland is currently 51-51 and just three games out of the American League's final Wild Card spot. They've also enjoyed a fair amount of success with Kwan and were just three wins away from advancing to the World Series in 2024.
It's difficult to imagine the Guardians being full sellers at the trade deadline, but if they were, Kwan and star closer Emmanuel Clase would be absolute dream acquisitions for the Phillies.