Not one but two Cleveland Guardians pitchers are now on paid leave due to alleged ties to a Major League Baseball (MLB) sports betting investigation.
The Guardians posted on social media on Monday to confirm that Emmanuel Clase has been placed on non-disciplinary paid leave as part of the probe, in accordance with an agreement with the MLB Players’ Association.
Per ESPN’s Jeff Passan, who first reported the news minutes before the team went public, Clase’s leave is until Aug. 31.
Clase is the second Guardians pitcher on leave who has been tied to the investigation, joining right-hander Luis Ortiz.
The Guardians wrote that they have been informed that no further team personnel are expected to be impacted.
Suspicious pitches sparked initial Ortiz investigation
Ortiz was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave less than four weeks ago. His enforced absence was originally set to last until the end of the MLB All-Star break, but was extended until the end of August as the investigation continues.
Outlets including ESPN reported that an unspecified sportsbook reported suspicious betting activity on the first pitches thrown by Ortiz in certain innings in games against the Seattle Mariners and the St. Louis Cardinals in June. Betting monitoring firm IC360 reportedly alerted sportsbooks and regulators after the unusual spike in action from betting accounts in New York, New Jersey and Ohio.
As of the time of writing, no details have yet been reported about betting activity that may have involved Clase or his performances. The MLB has said it won’t comment on the matter until the league concludes its investigation.
Clase is a three-time All-Star and has led the American League in saves in each of the past three seasons. Nominated for the Cy Young Award last year, the 27-year-old has a 3.23 ERA with 24 saves this season.
Ortiz was traded to the Guardians by the Pittsburgh Pirates in December. The Athletic reports that during his first spring training with Cleveland, he had a locker next to Clase in the clubhouse and the two bonded over their passion for farming in the Dominican Republic.
Commissioner Manfred suggests betting changes
During All-Star week, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred told reporters at the All-Star Game that all recent incidents of the league investigating suspicious betting activity have been a result of the joint monitoring efforts between MLB, its teams, sportsbooks and monitoring firms like IC360.
“I know there was a lot of sports betting, tons of it that went on illegally and we had no idea what threats there were to the integrity of the play because it was all not transparent,” Manfred said, per The Associated Press. “I firmly believe that the transparency and monitoring we have in place now as a result of the legalization and the partnerships that we’ve made puts us in a better position to protect baseball than we were in before.”
However, he added that while he supports legal and regulated sports betting, “there are certain types of bets that strike me as unnecessary and particularly vulnerable,” a comment that has been taken by some to refer to in-game betting. “Things where it’s one single act don’t affect the outcome necessarily, we should continue to think about that: do we really need that last kind of bet?”
Red Sox’s Giolito opened Manfred’s eyes to abuse
Meanwhile, Boston Red Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito said last week that he spoke to Manfred to explain to the commissioner how much betting-related abuse the league’s athletes receive.
Giolito revealed that he pulled aside Manfred for a one-on-one chat about the severity of the issue, and the commissioner was “taken aback” by the pitcher’s insights.
“It’s getting worse by the year, by the week, by the day,” Giolito suggested. “It’s astronomically more [than it used to be]. My worry is that a player gets assaulted or killed or something, because I am well aware that gambling addiction ruins people’s lives, so you never know if someone’s in a drastic state, what they could get into.”
