Kwan exits with wrist inflammation, ‘should be good to go on Friday’

CLEVELAND — Alarm bells went up when Steven Kwan did not take the field for warmups in the top of the fourth inning on Wednesday, in the Guardians’ 7-4 win over the Dodgers. Later, Cleveland announced the All-Star left fielder exited their series finale vs. Los Angeles due to right wrist inflammation.

Nolan Jones took over for Kwan in left field. It was not immediately clear when the issue initially cropped up, though Kwan was seen shaking his right hand after fouling off a 2-2 pitch from Clayton Kershaw in the first inning.

With an off-day Thursday, the Guardians played things cautiously.

“We just didn’t want to take any chances,” manager Stephen Vogt said of Kwan. “He kind of felt it on his swing. We have 48 hours until our next game. We felt like it was the right call to just get him out of there.

“He should be good to go on Friday.”

Jones had a big game in Kwan’s stead. He went 3-for-3 with a game-tying two-run single in the eighth inning, and he then scored on Angel Martínez’s go-ahead three-run homer.

“Obviously [I’m] having a tough start. No secret,” said Jones, who has a .568 OPS in 50 games this season. “I was not expecting, obviously, with the lefty in there to get in before at least the sixth inning. Kershaw was kind of cruising there for a little bit.

“I didn’t do anything prior, and they kind of said, ‘Hey, you good to go? Kwan’s a little banged up right now.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, sure.’ So it was kind of a quick start for me, but it worked out.”

Kwan (who went 0-for-2 before exiting) entered Wednesday slashing .314/.374/.429 in 53 games this season. He ranked ninth in the Majors in average and was tied for fifth in hits (66). His 2.3 WAR (according to Baseball Reference) ranked first on the Guardians.

Kwan is obviously an indispensable piece to Cleveland’s success, so any potential absence would be tough news for the Guardians. They were already playing Wednesday without outfielder Lane Thomas, who was out of the starting lineup for the second straight day due to right plantar fasciitis.

It’s an issue that has bothered Thomas in the past and it flared up recently, Vogt noted Wednesday morning. Thomas was set to be evaluated Wednesday, and he was unavailable in the series finale vs. Los Angeles.

Thomas has been limited to just 17 games this season. He spent exactly one month on the 10-day IL with a right wrist bone bruise before being activated on Thursday. The injury dates back to the Guardians’ April 8 home opener, when Thomas was hit by a pitch in the fifth inning.

While Thomas (Cleveland’s Opening Day center fielder) has been limited, the Guardians have also struggled to get production out of right field. Their right fielders entered Wednesday ranked last in the Majors in average (.159), on-base percentage (.229), slugging (.248) and wRC+ (35).

Jones (35 appearances, 28 starts) and Jhonkensy Noel (36, 20) have seen the most time in right for Cleveland this season. Noel (who went 1-for-4 on Wednesday) has a .412 OPS this season.

All in all, Kwan’s presence has been crucial to the outfield mix.