Steve Kwan Returns to Cleveland Guardians' Lineup After Extended Stay on Injured List

Cleveland Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan has missed the last four weeks with a left hamstring strain, but he will return and bat leadoff against the Washington Nationals on Friday.

Apr 27, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Cleveland Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan (38) celebrates with teammates after scoring a run against the Atlanta Braves in the eighth inning at Truist Park. / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Guardians have activated outfielder Steven Kwan from the 10-day injured list, the team announced Friday.

In order to make room for Kwan on the active 26-man roster, Cleveland designated Estevan Florial for assignment.

Kwan will start in left field and bat leadoff Friday against the Washington Nationals.

The 26-year-old outfielder has been out since May 4. He left the Guardians' game against the Los Angeles Angels that day after one at-bat.

Kwan underwent an MRI and got diagnosed with a left hamstring strain, hitting the injured list two days later.

Prior to his injury, Kwan was one of the hottest hitters in the American League. Kwan was batting .353 with three home runs, 11 RBI, three stolen bases, a .903 OPS and a 1.7 WAR in 32 appearances.

It remains to be seen if Kwan can keep up that kind of production after going four weeks between major league at-bats. He made two appearances with High-A Lake County and two more with Triple-A Columbus during his minor league rehab assignment, but he hit .200 with one home run, four RBI, one stolen base and an .885 OPS.

Kwan finished third in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2022. He won Gold Gloves in 2022 and 2023.

Between those two seasons, Kwan missed just 19 games total. Two months into the 2024 campaign, he has already missed 24 games.

Here is the Guardians' full lineup for Friday's game against the Nationals:

1. Steven Kwan, LF
2. Tyler Freeman, CF
3. José Ramírez, 3B
4. Josh Naylor, 1B
5. David Fry, C
6. Andrés Giménez, 2B
7. Jonathan Rodríguez, DH
8. Gabriel Arias, RF
9. Brayan Rocchio, SS
SP: Tanner Bibee, RHP

First pitch for the series opener is set for 7:10 p.m. ET. Cleveland is fresh off taking three out of four against the Atlanta Braves and two out of three against the Seattle Mariners, entirely without Kwan.

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