Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase has been placed on non-disciplinary paid leave as part of a Major League Baseball investigation into sports betting.<\/p>\n
Clase, a three-time All-Star, becomes the second Guardians pitcher to be placed on leave in connection with a sports gambling probe. Luis Ortiz also is on non-disciplinary leave through Aug. 31.<\/p>\n
It was unclear if the cases were related. The Guardians said in a statement the organization \u201c(has) been informed that no additional players or club personnel are expected to be impacted.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 27-year-old Clase is 5-3 with 24 saves in 48 games this year, but he also has a career-high 3.23 ERA. The right-hander led the AL in saves each of the previous three years and was believed to be on the market ahead of this week\u2019s MLB trade deadline.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not happy. This stinks,\u201d Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said before Monday night\u2019s 8-6 loss<\/a> to lowly Colorado. \u201cIt\u2019s a different part of our game now because it\u2019s legal. Two of our guys are being investigated \u2014 and it hurts. It\u2019s an unfortunate situation.\u201d<\/p>\n Major League Baseball has been monitoring sports gambling more closely since a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in May 2018 struck down a federal law<\/a> that had barred betting on football, basketball, baseball and other sports in most states.<\/p>\n MLB said in a statement that Clase \u2014 per an agreement with the players\u2019 association \u2014 had been placed on leave while the league \u201ccontinues its sports betting investigation.\u201d It declined further comment.<\/p>\n A spokeswoman for the Major League Baseball Players Association declined comment Monday night.<\/p>\n Chris Antonetti, the president of baseball operations for the Guardians, said he was informed of the situation involving Clase on Sunday. He met with his coaching staff and the players before the series opener against the Rockies.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re shocked, you\u2019re upset, you\u2019re frustrated. But I thought our guys, they did fine,\u201d Vogt said. \u201cIt was a long day for our guys, for everybody. So we\u2019re ready to get here tomorrow and get back after it.\u201d<\/p>\n Cleveland dropped to 52-54 with the loss to Colorado. Cade Smith blew a save opportunity when the Rockies scored four times in the ninth inning.<\/p>\n Vogt said the plan is to go with a closer-by-committee approach for now.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a part of the team,\u201d Smith said of Clase before the game. \u201cIt sucks for him to be not here today.\u201d<\/p>\n The Ortiz investigation is related to in-game prop bets on two pitches thrown by the right-hander<\/a> that received higher activity than usual during his starts at Seattle on June 15 and against St. Louis on June 27. The gambling activity on the pitches was flagged by a betting-integrity firm and forwarded to MLB.<\/p>\n The pair of Cleveland pitchers on leave comes after MLB suspended five players for gambling in June 2024, including a lifetime ban for San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano<\/a>. MLB said Marcano placed 387 baseball bets totaling more than $150,000 with a legal sportsbook in 2022 and 2023.<\/p>\n Athletics pitcher Michael Kelly and three minor leaguers \u2014 San Diego pitcher Jay Groome, Arizona pitcher Andrew Saalfrank and Philadelphia infielder Jos\u00e9 Rodr\u00edguez \u2014 received one-year suspensions.<\/p>\n