The Cleveland Guardians were hit with some terrible news just before the trade deadline.
Emmanuel Clase was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave as a part of the ongoing sports gambling investigation that also cost the team Luis L. Ortiz.
That clearly changed everything for this organization at the worst possible time, as they were playing their best baseball of the season.
The Guardians wound up being sellers, but they still held on to some of their best players.
With that in mind, Bleacher Report analyst Zachary D. Rymer had an interesting choice of words to describe this team’s situation:
“Stuck,” Rymer wrote. “It was only after Emmanuel Clase got placed on leave that the Guardians shifted to selling at the trade deadline, which gave them precious little time to get the lay of the land. It could be why they ended up holding Steven Kwan and Cade Smith. The question either way is where the Guardians go from here, especially with Kwan. He’ll be down to his last two years of arbitration-eligibility after this season, so the time for an extension is now. If nothing gets done, they may have no choice but to trade him anyway.”
Like he said, the timing of this situation may have been a blessing in disguise because they chose to keep both Kwan and Smith.
If it had happened a couple of days earlier, perhaps one of the many teams keeping tabs on their All-Star outfielder would’ve been able to strike a deal.
Then again, it’s not like they should’ve been in a rush to get anything done, as they could’ve always waited until the winter.
Hopefully, they will be able to work something out with Kwan, a fan favorite and one of the best outfielders in the game.
As for Smith, they may have no choice but to figure something out with him, as there’s a legitimate chance that we won’t see Emmanuel Clase take the mound in Major League Baseball ever again.
They’re at a crossroads, and we’ll just have to wait and see what they decide to do.
NEXT: Stat Highlights Steven Kwan's Dominance In Key Aspect Of Defense
