The Cleveland Guardians have gone through a lot recently, on and off the field. The gambling scandal involving Luis L. Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase could’ve been a lethal blow, but they managed to weather the storm like few people thought they would.
That doesn’t mean it didn’t take a toll on the organization, both financially and emotionally. With that in mind, analyst Bernie Pleskoff revealed the price the Guardians will pay for the loss of those pitchers.
“In addition to the Guardians losing the services of both Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase for half the 2025 season, it is highly unlikely, and improbable they will be on the team moving forward. The federal indictments against both pitchers could take time to resolve. The Major League Baseball investigation into their alleged gambling issues also await resolution. The Guardians have lost, and could be losing two viable pitchers. Especially Clase. The Guardians have lost precious contract dollars that were paid to both Ortiz and Clase during the half season they didn’t pitch. The Guardians could potentially lose the guaranteed $6.4M remaining on Clase’s contract, although it is unlikely he will pitch for them this coming season. That would negate his contract. Finally, as a team, the Guardians players and manager Stephen Vogt have been impacted by the loss of performance from two quality pitchers,” Pleskoff wrote.
The Guardians seemed to already be bracing themselves to move on from Clase before he was put on leave. He was mentioned in multiple trade rumors, and they liked what they had with reliever Cade Smith. So maybe losing the All-Star closer wasn’t as big a deal as initially thought, at least from a performance perspective.
As for Ortiz, he was showing flashes of greatness, and while he would still need some more time to fulfill his potential, the talent was there. He was a part of their starting rotation when he was sidelined.
Whatever the case, this was the type of blow that could’ve annihilated a team’s morale. Things weren’t going the Guardians’ way on the field at the time, and losing two teammates for allegedly throwing intentional balls to cash in a couple of thousand dollars reeked of an institutional crisis.
That’s why Vogt deserves so much credit. It takes a special leader to keep a team focused and motivated after going through something like that.
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