Cleveland Guardians put All-Star outfielder Steven Kwan on the injured list with two others which has caused whole lot….
Guardians All-Star left fielder Steven Kwan was placed on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday due to mid-back inflammation, which may have affected his performance in the second half of the season.
To fill his spot, the team called up outfielder Myles Straw from Triple-A Columbus before losing 4-1 to the Twins. Pitcher Carlos Carrasco was also designated for assignment.
Kwan has missed the last five games due to his injury, and the move is retroactive to September 14.
Manager Stephen Vogt was expected to give an update on Kwan’s return before the game against Minnesota, but he only said Kwan was “day to day.” This changed about 90 minutes before the game started.
Kwan has been struggling at the plate lately. He led MLB with a .352 batting average at the All-Star break, but he has dropped to .201 in the second half of the season. He also missed most of May because of a hamstring injury.
Straw is returning to the Guardians after being designated for assignment at the end of spring training. He had been the team’s regular center fielder for over two seasons and won a Gold Glove in 2022.
Straw has faced challenges with his hitting. He had a .238 average last season with one home run, 29 RBIs, and 20 stolen bases, so the Guardians were looking for better performance. The 29-year-old was acquired from Houston during the trade deadline in 2021.
Carrasco was in his second stint with the Guardians after signing as a free agent in February. The 37-year-old had previously spent three seasons with the New York Mets after being traded in the Francisco Lindor deal.
While the Cleveland Guardians wait for one key contributor to return from injury, another is set to go. With All-Star outfielder Steven Kwan considered day-to-day, Ben Lively takes the mound after dodging a serious injury in his most recent outing, as the American League Central-leading Guardians look for a second straight win and series split with the visiting Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday.
Kwan was scratched from Friday’s lineup with a back issue that also forced him to miss Saturday’s 6-1 victory over the Rays. “Kwan had some mid-to-low back tightness (and) stiffness going on,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “So, we went and got a scan. It came back good, but he’s still pretty sore.” While it’s uncertain if Kwan needs an injured-list stint, Lively (11-9, 4.01 ERA) won’t miss any time after he took a liner off his right thigh during Tuesday’s 5-0 victory against the Chicago White Sox. Getting hit by the drive forced him to exit after two innings.
In the days since, Lively experienced slightly more than a bruise but appears ready to take this turn in Cleveland’s rotation. “I was trying to test it all we could and (discomfort) just started shooting all up and down my leg,” Lively said. “Played the smart game (by leaving Tuesday’s game).” In two starts prior to that outing, the 32-year-old right-hander allowed 10 runs and 16 hits in 8 1/3 innings. Lively, who looked solid to begin Tuesday’s start, will try to help the Guardians salvage a split after the team totaled three runs in losing the first two of this four-game set.
