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CLEVELAND — There will be plenty of time in the days and weeks ahead to sift through the wreckage Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz have left for the Guardians and Major League Baseball to repair. The fact that baseball is now investigating two of Cleveland’s pitchers with gambling implications is extremely troubling for the franchise and the sport at large.
All parties insist this is it and no more names are forthcoming from the Guardians’ clubhouse. I don’t know how investigators can be so sure of that without first interviewing Clase, who didn’t become aware he was being placed on leave until Sunday or Monday.
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) July 28, 2025
The Clase news was a devastating blow with far-reaching tentacles and leaves my head spinning with short-term questions and long-term concerns.
For now, Guardians president Chris Antonetti has more pressing matters, such as navigating Thursday’s trade deadline. I already believed trading Shane Bieber was likely before the Clase news. Now it’s inevitable.
Any legitimate chance the Guardians had at contending this season walked out the door with Clase. Not only will he not pitch for them for at least the next month (and possibly the rest of the regular season, at minimum), but Clase’s trade value was also severely damaged with Monday’s news.
The Guardians pulled his name from trade negotiations in recent days once they became aware of baseball’s investigation. Now, rules prohibit them from trading him at all.
Caught in the fallout is Bieber. This isn’t the ending anyone wanted for his career in Cleveland, and the timing on this mess will forever be blamed for the team moving on from its former Cy Young winner, even if the decision to trade Bieber had been made weeks ago.
He likely would’ve been dealt last year at the deadline had he not been injured. Instead, the Guardians were able to sign him to a short-term deal worth $10 million this season and a player option for next year. If Bieber is healthy and pitches well the last two months, he’ll decline the option and try for the first big payday of his career, and Cleveland will be left with nothing.
The Guardians will turn that $10 million investment into prospects rather than playoff starts. His rehab start Tuesday at Double-A Akron is expected to be heavily attended by scouts because Bieber could be the best starting pitcher on the market this week — even if he isn’t quite ready to pitch in major-league games. He’ll be viewed as a risky rental for contenders, but that’s still worth a fair amount in today’s pitching-depleted market.
The main question after Bieber is how far does the sale go? Do they deal Steven Kwan, too?
It’s been a stunning fall and a miserable season for an organization that hasn’t capitalized on its appearance in the American League Championship Series just a year ago.
As for Clase, nobody will say it yet, but it certainly appears his case could be connected to Ortiz. The two are close friends and both are from the Dominican Republic. Ortiz was initially placed on leave on July 3 while baseball investigates two pitches he threw unusually wide of the strike zone. That leave has been extended and runs through the end of August. Clase’s timeline is now the same.
All of this leads to more questions that baseball probably doesn’t want to answer. As more cases linked to gambling emerge, just how deep does this run? Cleveland is the first organization believed to have two players suspected of gambling violations, but I doubt it will be the last. This was inevitable once pro sports teams swung open their doors to gambling money.
Clase is believed to earn the highest salary of anyone investigated thus far. Many of the previously suspended players were minor leaguers or players early in their careers. The accusations leveled against Ortiz were far more egregious than those against other players and affect the integrity of the game. The nature of the Clase allegations has yet to be revealed.
Clase has made more than $15 million in his career, and he is set to earn $6.5 million next season. It’s not unreasonable to wonder whether both Clase and Ortiz have thrown their last pitch in Major League Baseball.
If gamblers can get to a player who has already made more than $15 million, how far can they reach?
There are plenty of other questions to ask, such as what a team’s responsibility is once they learn an investigation is forthcoming. The Guardians knew this could happen to Clase and pitched him anyway over the weekend. Technically, they didn’t do anything wrong. He hadn’t been placed on leave yet. However, it’s easy to see how quickly the lines blur.
Bieber is a fan favorite. Clase had a path to the Hall of Fame. Both may soon be gone forever from Cleveland.
(Photo: Mitchell Layton / Getty Images)
