Cleveland Guardians reliever Emmanuel Clase was placed on leave by Major League Baseball on Monday amid a gambling investigation, and some videos that have surfaced of pitches that were thrown by the closer this season are raising questions.
The Guardians announced in a statement on Monday that Clase has been placed on non-disciplinary paid leave as part of a sports gambling investigation. The probe is the same one that resulted in Cleveland starting pitcher Luis Ortiz being placed on leave in June.
MLB’s initial investigation began after a betting-integrity firm flagged suspicious wagering activity related to two different pitches that Ortiz threw in June. There was a notable amount of activity from bettors who wagered on Ortiz to miss the strike zone or hit the batter on two specific pitches.
Both pitches were well outside the strike zone, with one bouncing in the dirt. You can see the videos here.
After Clase was also placed on leave, fans began sharing videos that showed instances where the closer also threw pitches at the start of innings that were way outside the strike zone. Some of the pitches bounced in the dirt or nearly hit batters.
Emmanuel Clase has come in to the game at the beginning of the 9th inning 40 times this season. Here is his Statcast Waste% (pitches that aren't close to zone).
— Foolish Baseball (@FoolishBB) July 28, 2025
First pitch of 9th inning: = 17.5%
Every other pitch = 5.2%
Just speculating, but this how Luis Ortiz got flagged. pic.twitter.com/lZGwgQ2KdZ
MLB has not released any details about the ongoing investigation.
Clase has a 3.23 ERA across 48 appearances this season. The right-hander has saved 24 games in 29 tries and has 47 strikeouts in 47 1/3 innings.
The Guardians entered Monday with a record of 52-53. They are eight games behind the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central and 3.5 games out of a Wild Card spot.
Clase was suspended 80 games by MLB in 2020 after he tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs.
MLB has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to gambling on baseball. Last year, San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano was banned from MLB for life after an investigation revealed he placed tens of thousands of dollars in MLB-related wagers. Not long after that, an umpire was fired over a different gambling probe.
