CLEVELAND — Major League Baseball and the players association have agreed to extend the non-disciplinary paid leave for Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz “until further notice,” as the league continues its sports betting investigation into both Cleveland Guardians pitchers. They were previously placed on paid leave through Aug. 31.
That all but guarantees neither will pitch again for the Guardians this season.
Ortiz has been sidelined since July 3, a day he was supposed to start for the Guardians in the middle of what became a 10-game losing streak. At the end of the All-Star break, the league extended Ortiz’s leave through at least Aug. 31.
On July 28, the league announced that Clase was also part of the investigation and would join Ortiz on the sideline through at least the end of August. The league assured the Guardians that “no additional players or club personnel are expected to be impacted.”
The Ohio Casino Control Commission received intelligence at the end of June from an Ohio sportsbook and MLB regarding “suspicious wagering activity on Cleveland Guardians wagering events.” The commission is working with MLB on its investigation. Neither entity will comment further until the conclusion of the investigation.
Clase, 27, is the franchise saves leader. He led the American League in saves each of the past three seasons. In 2024, he posted a 0.61 ERA, which earned him a third-place finish in the AL Cy Young Award balloting. He boasts a 1.88 ERA across six big-league seasons. That made him an attractive trade candidate this summer.
The Guardians had been fielding offers for Clase ahead of the July 31 trade deadline, league sources told The Athletic. They had told teams they preferred not to move Clase or fellow reliever Cade Smith, since both came with years of inexpensive team control. When Clase was placed on paid leave, he became ineligible to be traded.
The Guardians traded for Ortiz in November in a three-team swap that sent Gold Glove Award-winning second baseman Andrés Giménez to the Toronto Blue Jays. They acquired Clase from the Texas Rangers in a December 2019 deal that cost them an aging Corey Kluber, a two-time Cy Young Award winner.
Clase is signed for $4.9 million this year, $6.4 million next year and then has a pair of $10 million club options for 2027 and 2028. Ortiz, who recorded a 4.36 ERA in 16 starts this season, is under team control through 2029. He’s earning the league minimum of about $760,000 this year. The Guardians are responsible for both players’ salaries while they are on paid leave, a team source told The Athletic.
After the trade deadline passed, the Guardians cleared out the lockers for Clase and Ortiz, a message inside the clubhouse that they were moving forward with the active players on the roster following a summer of outside distractions and turmoil.
Rule 21d(2) in the MLB handbook states: “Any player, umpire or club or league official or employee who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform, shall be declared permanently ineligible.”
Rule 21d(3) states: “Any player, umpire or club or league official or employee who places bets with illegal bookmakers or agents for illegal bookmakers, shall be subject to such penalty as the Commissioner deems appropriate in light of the facts and circumstances of the conduct.”
Those rules are posted in every MLB clubhouse.
“I think we do a great job of informing,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said in late July. “As a player, you know exactly what the parameters are.”
“I don’t think it’s a question of people not knowing the rules,” Guardians president Chris Antonetti said.
It’s been a rocky summer for the club, which rebounded from that 10-game skid with a monthlong surge. After virtually erasing its deficit in the wild-card race, however, the Guardians have slipped again over the past two weeks. Despite the absences of Ortiz and Clase, Cleveland’s pitching has held firm, with contributions in the rotation from youngsters Joey Cantillo and Parker Messick. In the bullpen, Smith has shifted to the closer role, with rookies Erik Sabrowski and Nic Enright excelling in middle relief.
(Photo of Clase: Frank Jansky / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)