Guardians place AL-leading hitter Steven Kwan on injured list, promote top prospect Kyle Manzardo

Cleveland Guardians’ Steven Kwan rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run off Chicago White Sox pitcher Erick Fedde during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, April 10, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Ron Schwane)

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Guardians are losing their extraordinary leadoff hitter for a bit and adding one with power and potential.

Cleveland placed outfielder Steven Kwan, who leads the AL with a .353 average, on the 10-day injured list Monday with a left hamstring strain he sustained while running down a fly ball over the weekend.

Kwan felt tightness in his hamstring and was pulled from Saturday’s win over the Angels as a precaution. An MRI revealed an acute strain and the Guardians said Kwan likely will be out for up to one month.

“Super unfortunate news,” manager Stephen Vogt said. “We’re going to miss Kwanny a lot. You can’t replace somebody like that, but four weeks isn’t horrific. Anytime it’s hamstring, it’s not good. But sounds like it shouldn’t hinder him too long. Just got to make sure that he’s back to 100% before we get him back out there.”

Cleveland Guardians second baseman Andres Gimenez, left, and left fielder Steven Kwan pose with their 2023 Gold Glove and Platinum Glove awards, before the second baseball game of the team’s doubleheader against the New York Yankees on Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Dermer)

Kwan said he had hamstring issues while playing at Oregon State and in the minors.

His injury is a blow to the AL Central-leading Guardians, but it’s giving the team a chance to promote hard-hitting prospect Kyle Manzardo, who has been bashing minor league pitchers this season and will now join a Cleveland lineup that can use some middle muscle.

The Guardians have been one of the season’s early surprise teams — they’re 22-12 heading into their series opener against Detroit — with Kwan a big reason for the club’s fast start.

He seems to start or be in the middle of virtually every rally, and the 26-year-old Kwan continues to be one of the league’s best defensive outfielders. Last year, he won his second straight Gold Glove.

Kwan’s injury is the first to impact Cleveland’s everyday lineup, but the club has been dealing with an assortment of some pitching issues, including ace Shane Bieber having season-ending elbow surgery.

Vogt has confidence his team will respond to losing Kwan.

“Not one person needs to come in and replace him,” Vogt said. “We just got to keep playing our game. Yeah, it’s a big hit, but similar to the pitching, when we lost Biebs, the guys have stepped up. We can’t control what happened. We can only control who has the opportunity and we feel good about our guys that are going to be here.”

Manzardo’s reputation as a slugger preceded his arrival in Cleveland.

The 23-year-old was acquired at last year’s trade deadline from Tampa Bay for pitcher Aaron Civale. The Rays were reluctant to part with Manzardo but they needed pitching while the Guardians have been craving a big bat in the middle of their order.

“Kyle is a very good hitter with power and if a pitcher makes a mistake, he can take you out of the park,” Vogt said.

Manzardo had a strong spring for the Guardians, who had him start the season at Triple-A Columbus to build confidence. He’s done just that, hitting .303 with nine homers, 10 doubles and 20 RBIs in 29 games.

Cleveland fans have been clamoring for Manzardo, who will be the club’s DH and bat seventh in the series opener against the Tigers and is expected to get some playing time at first base. Vogt has inserted Estevan Florial in Kwan’s leadoff spot.

“They told me I would be doing a lot of DHing in the short-term, then mixing in at first base,” Manzardo said.

Vogt said Manzardo will primarily be used as the team’s DH, but it’s possible he could get some time in the outfield after working with coach JT Maguire.

“We just want to create as much versatility as we can with our roster,” Vogt said. “But as of right now, I would say he’s going to get the majority of his reps at DH.”

Also, the Guardians activated left-hander Sam Hentges from the injured list. The reliever has been out since training camp with a middle finger issue.

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