The wrist injury continues to trouble Kwan, causing him to miss games, but both the Guardians and the player remain optimistic.

Steven Kwan has missed today's game against the Athletics due to a recurring right wrist injury, marking his second consecutive absence. However, both the player and the Guardians are hopeful about his recovery prospects.

Kwan stated that he felt better after receiving the wrist injection treatment on Thursday. The 27-year-old outfielder engaged in batting practice and participated in defensive drills prior to the Guardians' 2-8 defeat. "My wrist feels good," Kwan said, "the recovery has been progressing well after the injection, and I remain cautiously optimistic about the rehabilitation process."

Manager Stephen Vogt confirmed that Kwan's injury does not require him to go on the injured list, and his condition is being monitored daily. "This is not a situation that requires a stint on the injured list; he is improving every day," Vogt emphasized today. "Every day from now on is a critical observation point."

The injury dates back to the game against the Dodgers on May 28, when Kwan attempted a head-first slide into second base during the third inning with two outs and a 2-2 count (at that moment, Bo Naylor struck out), injuring his wrist in the process. Although he started the next day, he left early against Los Angeles and was diagnosed with inflammation in his right wrist. "The discomfort from that slide has never really gone away," Kwan explained. "It fluctuated during that time, and after swinging hard in last week's series against the Astros, it flared up again."

This season, Kwan has played 92 of the first 95 games despite his injury, but the worsening condition last week prompted medical intervention. "We decided to go with an injection treatment to resolve the issue completely," Kwan stated. "Especially looking to impact the second half of the season, I need to ensure I’m at 100%."

It's worth noting that Kwan participated in the All-Star Game (as a selected substitute outfielder by player vote) while still injured. Vogt revealed that the team supported his participation even knowing he needed the injection on Thursday. "The management fully supported my involvement in the event," Kwan expressed gratefully, "and I took responsibility to manage my intensity: I didn’t participate in batting practice and didn’t exert too much effort during fly ball drills."

The Guardians won the first game of the series yesterday with an 8-6 score (including 9 hits, 7 of which were extra-base hits), but today their lineup was stifled—scoring only thanks to José Ramírez’s two-run homer against Luis Severino in the third inning. During their recent stretch of seven wins in eight games, the team averaged 6.13 runs per game, successfully overcoming a ten-game losing streak.

"We’ve been performing well recently," Vogt summarized, "and we won't overreact to a single loss, but we must continue to focus on quality at-bats every night."