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BREAKING: Guardians Closer Emmanuel Clase Reportedly Placed on Leave as Part of a Sports Betting Investigation Stunning news today that is going to have ramifications across the sport, almost immediately. Jeff Passan reports that Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase has been placed on non-disciplinary paid leave as part of a sports betting investigation. Emmanuel Clase Placed on Leave Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase's non-disciplinary paid leave is through Aug. 31, MLB said in a statement.— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 28, 2025 From MLB: "Per an agreement with the MLBPA, Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase has been placed on non-disciplinary paid leave through games on August 31st while MLB continues its sports betting investigation. We will not comment further until the investigation has been…— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) July 28, 2025 You will recall that Guardians starter Luis Ortiz went on leave as MLB investigated allegedly suspicious pitches/betting activity that certainly looked pretty bad for Ortiz. And now Clase? A superstar teammate? This is just stunning news. I think it’s probably hard to overstate how impactful this news is on so many fronts. My head is spinning a bit coming up with them … The impact on the Trade Deadline is massive, because Emmanuel Clase was expected to be one of the most dominant relievers potentially traded. The impact on the Trade Deadline is also significant, because now the Guardians have all the more reason to trade whatever they can. The impact of having a star player caught up in a story like this is … well, yeah, that’s potentially the biggest piece of all, but we’ll need more information to assess the fallout. And lastly, you have the impact of wondering whether this is more rampant than we even knew. Did the Ortiz investigation just happen to ensnare Clase because they were teammates? Are there other situations like that one teams across the league? Again, I don’t think it’s overstating the situation to say this is potentially a very widespread concern, especially in relation to micro-bets about individual pitches. I should say, for now, this is merely an investigation. I don’t want to conclude anything definitively on Clase, as I have none of that information. But the FACT of the investigation – and its impact around the league – is already major news. More is coming, without a doubt. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports https://www.bleachernation.com/cubs/2025/07/28/emmanuel-clase-leave/