CLEVELAND, Ohio — In less than a month, two prominent Guardians pitchers have been placed on a leave of absence while Major League Baseball investigates them for gambling.

Emmanuel Clase, the dominant closer in the American League for the last four years, was placed on non-disciplinary leave Monday. He joined Luis Ortiz, a member of the starting rotation, who was placed on leave July 3.

The investigation, as of now, had an Aug. 31 deadline.

The moves have left teammates shocked and manager Stephen Vogt and Chris Antonetti, president of baseball operations, scrambling to keep the Guardians’ postseason chances relevant.

On a bigger front, it has raised the question about the integrity of the game. With legal gambling pervasive in all professional spots, and more and more athletes getting entangled in it, can fans really trust what they are seeing on the field?

“It makes it hard,” said Vogt. “I’m not happy. This stinks.

“It’s a different part of the game because now gambling is legal. You don’t know what’s going on. There have been a number of stories over the last year and a half related to this. Now two of our guys are being investigated and it hurts.

“All I can say is we’re doing everything in our power to go out and play the game of baseball the right way every single night. I’ve talked to our players about it. It’s an unfortunate situation.”

Ortiz is being investigated for influencing prop bets or micro-bets by the way he pitched during specific games. Sources didn’t say what Clase is being investigated for, but it’s clear that MLB was alerted to him through its investigation into Oritz.

MLB’s original investigation on Ortiz was supposed to run through July 17, but it was extended through Aug. 31. MLB is said to be investigating his spring training performance with the Guardians and his season with the Pirates in 2024.

Clase and Ortiz are friends.

They share similar hairstyles and sat near each other in the Guardians’ spring training clubhouse in Goodyear, Arizona. The Domininican Republic natives would frequently talk about their farms and the best way or raising chickens.

Vogt and Antonetti talked to the staff and then the players on Monday after MLB officially put Clase on leave.

“We’re going to get through it, but it’s going to be hard,” said Vogt.

Antonetti said he was officially informed of Clase’s status on Sunday while driving home from Cooperstown where Cleveland broadcaster Tom Hamilton was inducted into the broadcaster win of the Hall of Fame as the Ford C. Frick winner.

Vogt and Antonetti said they had an inkling over the weekend that MLB was looking at Clase. But they had no idea what its finding would be.

That did not stop Vogt from using Clase twice in Saturday’s day-night doubleheader against Kansas City. He also had him warming in the ninth inning in Sunday’s 4-1 loss.

Clase lost the first game of the doubleheader when he gave up a three-run homer to Jonathan India in the 10th inning to turn a 3-2 lead into a 5-3 loss.

In the second game, Clase retired the Royals in order in the ninth for a 6-4 win. It was his 24th save in 29 chances.

Why would Vogt use Clase if he had an idea that MLB was investigating him?

“We didn’t think, ‘OPh, let’s do this because of this,’” said Vogt. “I managed each game to win the game. There was no, oh, let’s do this just because of that.

“We didn’t know. We didn’t know if or when or how or why. I was aware that it could happen, and so I managed each game accordingly.”

Clase, after a shaky start in March and April this season, went 1-3 with a 1.85 ERA in 19 saves from May 1 through Sunday. In other words, Clase was pitching like the closer who converted 47 saves in 50 chances in 2024.

Why wouldn’t Vogt use him if he didn’t have all the details of his impending leave of absence until Sunday?

Then again, with the door being kicked open into the seamier side of gambling, people could look at Clase’s performance in the postseason last year with jaded eyes. After a historic regular season in which he posted 0.61 ERA, while allowing five earned runs in 74 1/3 innings, Clase stumbled in the postseason against Detroit and the Yankees. He went 0-2 with two saves and a 9.00 ERA, allowing eight earned runs in eight innings.

The Guardians later discovered Clase may have been tipping his pitches, especially against the Yankees, but Monday’s investigation puts Clase’s career in a different light.

The world of professional sports and gambling led to a thorny relationship. Here are some of the question everyone involved is trying to answer:

Q. Why is sports gambling a concern for professional leagues?

A. Since the Supreme Court struck down a federal ban on sports gambling in 2018, betting has become increasingly mainstream, with individual states regulating it. While leagues generally prohibit players from betting on their own sports, the concern lies in the potential compromise of game integrity. Athletes may possess insider information that could influence betting lines, and if they bet on games they’re involved in, it raises the risk of manipulating outcomes or statistics.

Q. What are prop bets, and why are they controversial?

A. Prop bets are wagers placed on specific outcomes within a game, such as how many points a player scores or whether a baseball player gets a hit. These bets are particularly controversial because they can be influenced by individual player actions, making them susceptible to manipulation.

For example, a player might underperform intentionally to affect a bet’s outcome. The case of former Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter illustrates this risk. Porter was banned from the NBA in 2024 after betting on games and allegedly removing himself from play to influence a bet. He also leaked confidential health information, which was used in an $80,000 bet predicting his underperformance. The bet was flagged due to suspicious activity, highlighting the dangers of prop betting.

Q. How have other professional athletes been affected by gambling investigations?

A. Several athletes across major leagues have faced disciplinary actions for gambling violations.

In the NBA, Jontay Porter received a lifetime ban and pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Pistons guard Malik Beasley is also under federal investigation.In the NFL, Calvin Ridley was suspended for the 2022 season for betting while on mental health leave. In 2023, five NFL players were suspended for gambling violations, with three receiving indefinite bans. The NHL suspended Ottawa Senators center Shane Pinto for 41 games, although he wasn’t found to have bet on NHL games. MLB issued a lifetime ban to Tucupita Marcano in 2024 for placing nearly 400 bets, including 25 on games he played in. These cases reflect a broader trend of increased scrutiny and enforcement across sports.

Q. What are the historical precedents for gambling scandals in sports?

A. Gambling scandals in sports are not new. The most infamous cases in MLB history include the 1919 Chicago White Sox, who were banned for throwing the World Series, and Pete Rose, who received a lifetime ban in 1989 for betting on games he played in. Interestingly, both Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson were reinstated in May 2025. These historical examples underscore the long-standing concern over gambling’s impact on sports integrity. They also serve as cautionary tales for today’s athletes, as leagues continue to enforce strict rules to preserve fair play.

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