The Cleveland Guardians have been through a lot this year, but the biggest storyline surrounding the team is the gambling investigation that stems from Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase.
Clase, before the gambling investigation was brought to the forefront, was a big name to watch on the trade block. It seemed like the Guardians would have preferred to trade Clase in order to help kick start their rebuild.
Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller recently suggested the Guardians would still be eager to trade Clase in the offseason if the gambling investigation is cleared by that point.
“Well, before the suspension news hit, Clase’s name was quite popular on the speculative trade block. He has been the best closer in baseball over the past half-decade, and those $10M club options two and three years from now would be no problem whatsoever for the majority of MLB franchises,” Miller wrote. “But that amount of coin for a closer? On Cleveland’s budget? He’s probably more valuable to them as a trade chip.
Jul 23, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Emmanuel Clase (48) reacts after a win over the Baltimore Orioles at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images / David Richard-Imagn Images
“Again, assuming for the moment that Clase gets cleared in this investigation, who the heck wouldn’t want the best closer in baseball for three years at an average annual value of $8.8M? Jeff Hoffman got an $11M AAV on a three-year deal last offseason with all of 12 career saves to his name. Tanner Scott had two solid years and got a four-year, $72M deal in free agency. Guys with proven track records in the ninth inning simply never come this cheap, at least in terms of salary. We’ll see how much prospect capital Cleveland demands, though.”
If Clase ends up on the trade block again, cleared from his investigation, the Cardinals would be foolish not to take a shot at landing him.
This is all hypothetical because if Clase doesn’t get cleared from the investigation, there’s a chance he never pitches in MLB again. But if he is, the Cardinals would be the perfect landing spot.
After trading the expiring Ryan Helsley at the trade deadline, the Cardinals could use a controllable closer to replace him. Clase has more team control on his deal and it’s not very expensive at all.
Following this investigation, it’s safe to assume Clase’s trade value has dropped a bit. The Cardinals could look to land him at his lowest value ever and shore up the bullpen with a superstar.
It’s highly unlikely at this point, as there are a lot of hoops to jump through before it could come to fruition, but it’s still a situation to monitor this offseason.
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