It’s going to take a lot more than Jim Bowden thinks to get Steven Kwan to Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers want Steven Kwan. They want him badly. Or ... at least that's what it feels like. They came inches from acquiring him at the trade deadline, but the Cleveland Guardians held strong in their lofty asking price. All indications are that Andrew Friedman and Brandon Gomes are going to try again to bring Kwan to Los Angeles this winter.

The Winter Meetings could be the perfect backdrop to get a deal done, and a Kwan to LA trade is one of the things that is on Jim Bowden's wish list for the annual summit, but unfortunately, it's going to take a lot more than what he proposes to get a deal done.

Jim Bowden's proposed trade package to bring Steven Kwan to the Dodgers is overly optimistic

Bowden's proposed deal would have Kwan coming to Los Angeles in exchange for the Dodgers' top prospect Josue De Paula. That's it. Just a straight-up one-for-one trade, which seems curious given that that was likely discussed at the trade deadline.

Now, De Paula is someone who would be of interest to Cleveland. According to those in the know in Cleveland, the Guardians would want a major league-ready hitter back for Kwan in order to reset the control clock. The 20-year-old De Paula played just four games at Double-A Tulsa in 2025, so to call him big league ready might be a stretch. That said, he is expected to be a fast riser and could make an impact at some point in 2026, even if it's not right out of the gate.

But while the promising young outfielder is a good starting point, he alone isn't enough to pry the four-time Gold Glover away from Cleveland's clutches. For one thing, Kwan has two more years of team control left, so Cleveland doesn't need to trade him. He's still affordable, and they could easily hold onto him until the 2026 trade deadline or next offseason if no one offers them what they want.

In fact, their past history shows that the small-market Guardians rarely trade away players before their final year of team control. Why would a two-time All-Star like Kwan be the exception?

The only way a deal gets done is if someone meets the sky-high price they've set. That would mean De Paula plus someone else, preferably a true major league-ready bat.

Cleveland's offense was one of the most anemic in baseball, with only the Pittsburgh Pirates and Colorado Rockies scoring fewer runs than the 643 that the Guardians put up in 2025. Outside of Jose Ramirez, Kwan is their best hitter.

This is a team that chased down the Detroit Tigers and wrestled away the AL Central crown, despite their offensive ineptitude. They're not going to accept much of a step back, and instead are going to prefer pieces that at least have the potential to propel their lineup forward.

Where does that leave the Dodgers? It's tough to say. LA doesn't have a ton of cost-controlled youngsters on the big league roster who they could add to De Paula to get a deal done. The only player who truly fits that bill is Dalton Rushing. Is a Rushing-De Paula package too much, too little, or just right? We'll know when we know, but we can say for sure that De Paula alone isn't going to cut it.