Phillies Would Be Good Fit for Angels Outfielder After Steven Kwan News

The Philadelphia Phillies can scratch one name off of their list of possible outfielders to acquire.

As our Zach Pressnell wrote about, the Cleveland Guardians have reportedly shut down any rumors about trading Steven Kwan. However, FanSided’s Zachary Rotman believes the Phillies should now pursue Taylor Ward and adds he could be a better choice than Kwan.

“An argument can absolutely be made that he’d be a better fit in Philadelphia than Kwan for a couple of reasons,” wrote Rotman. “First and foremost, Ward offers more of what the Phillies need offensively. Kwan gets on base a lot and has a far better hit tool than Ward, but he has just six home runs and 32 RBI on the year compared to Ward’s 23 and 76, respectively. …. Second, Ward is right-handed, while Kwan is left-handed. The team’s two best hitters and only major power threats, Harper and Schwarber, are left-handed. Adding a big right-handed bat would give the Phillies’ lefty-heavy lineup far better balance.”

Ward has been a consistent bat in the lineup for the Los Angeles Angels over the last 5 1/2 years which would certainly make him a desirable target for the Phillies. The Max Kepler signing has been atrocious for Dave Dombrowski, so acquiring Ward could help make up for wasting money on Kepler.

“Ward, like Kwan, would come with additional club control, but he only has one extra year to Kwan’s two,” added Rotman. “That makes a difference, and increases the urgency for the Angels to part with Ward.”

Not only does it increase the urgency for the Angels to move on from him, one less year of control means the Phillies would have to give up less to get Ward. In turn, they could then still address the other needs they have at the deadline.

Adding Ward makes a lot of sense for the Phillies, and Dombrowski should get aggressive to get the deal done.

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