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CLEVELAND — Emmanuel Clase is officially off the trading block, and not for the reasons the Cleveland Guardians might have hoped.
After Clase was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave as part of MLB’s sports-betting investigation on Monday, Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti acknowledged that the high-profile closer wouldn’t be a part of any trades before the upcoming MLB trade deadline later this week.
“No,” Antonetti responded to reporters on Monday afternoon when asked if Clase would potentially be traded.
It’s a blow to the Guardians, who likely could have received a loaded return had they chosen to move the 27-year-old right-hander. However, with MLB’s investigation underway, Clase is now on leave until Aug. 31.
It is Major League Baseball’s second look at the franchise in terms of potential sports betting following Luis Ortiz being placed on the same kind of leave earlier in July. That means Cleveland is down two relievers, including Clase and his 24 saves posted so far this season.
“I think what’s important is that we understand what the reality is and figure out how do we move forward from here,” Antonetti said. “That’s really the focus.
“Both guys won’t be available to us in the near term, and we need to figure out a way to overcome that. It’s not too dissimilar to the moment when players are injured and they’re not available to us. We have to find the next group to step up and shoulder a load and find a way to win games. That’s really what we’re focused on.”
Antonetti also told reporters that the two relievers will be the last Cleveland players investigated for this type of potential infringement.
“We’ve been informed by Major League Baseball. They were very clear to let us know that they don’t expect any other players or staff members,” Antonetti said.
While Clase may not be off the trading list, Antonetti told reporters it was still very “active” in terms of other teams reaching out to the Guardians around the 6 p.m. (Eastern) Thursday trade deadline.
“We’re in constant dialogue with a lot of teams,” Antonetti said. “We had a lot of dialogue up through this morning and certainly had dialogue over the last few hours. My expectation is that it will continue over the next few days.”
Antonetti didn’t offer a timeline in terms of when Cleveland might hear official rulings from MLB on the investigations.
“What I know is that the suspensions are in place through August 31 and then we’ll have to see where things are happening,” Antonetti said. “Obviously, for everyone, I think you’d prefer to have the clarity sooner rather than later. But I recognize it’s a complicated issue and usually baseball has a number of steps they need to work through to complete that investigation.”
All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
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