Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase has been one of the best relief pitchers in all of baseball throughout the majority of his six year MLB career. But unfortunately, Clase’s reputation took a massive hit when it was revealed on Monday that he is now being investigation by the MLB as a part of the league’s sports-betting investigation.
Sports betting is of course outlawed for any MLB player. And lately, the league has begun to crack down more extensively on players who have been found to have placed wagers on the league, suspending five players for gambling in June 2024.
Typically, these investigations have been reserved for players who aren’t amongst the best in the sport. But on Monday, that changed, as Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase was placed on the league’s non-disciplinary paid leave list while they investigate him in their sports-betting investigation, according to ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan.
Interestingly, as Passan pointed out, Clase is not the only Cleveland Guardians player that has been placed on leave due to being apart of the league’s investigation, as fellow pitcher Luis Ortiz was similarly place on league earlier this year.
It’s pretty jarring to even think about the possibility of someone like Clase, who has been arguably the best reliever in the sport, could be involved in sports gambling. Especially if the gambling he is suspected of being involved in include negative wagers regarding his own performance.
Regardless of how the investigation plays out, Clase will remain on leave at least through Aug. 31, which is obviously a devastating blow for the Guardians, who currently find themselves in second place in the AL Central and just 3.5 games out of an AL Wild Card spot.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.