The Cleveland Guardians just swept the Houston Astros on the heels of a 10-game losing streak, and while the sweep is nice, it doesn’t erase all the damage that skid left behind, as the team now has the fourth-worst record in the American League and is looking more and more like sellers at the upcoming trade deadline.
With the losses piling up, it has only heated up rumors about a few of the team’s foundational players being floated around on the open market, and one former Guardian recently said he was “intrigued” by the concept of trading one star.
During a recent episode of the BIGPLAY Cleveland Show, Jensen Lewis said he is intrigued by what potential packages could be fetched in return for star closer Emmanuel Clase.
“I’m intrigued to see what potential packages are offered for Emmanuel Clase,” Lewis said.
Who should the Guardians sell at the deadline? #GuardsBall
"I'm intrigued to see what potential packages are offered for Emmanuel Clase."
–@JLEWFifty weighs in…
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— BIGPLAY Cleveland Show (@BIGPLAYCLEshow) July 10, 2025
Steven Kwan is the star that nobody wants to see traded, but Clase has lost a lot of equity with this fanbase over the past year.
Clase was otherworldly last season, but he gave up more runs in the postseason than he did in the regular season and was a big reason why the team ultimately fell short of the World Series.
He has followed that up with a 3.12 ERA this season and has already blown four saves, and he is looking more like the guy with the 3+ ERA from 2023 than the guy who posted a 0.61 ERA last season.
With Cade Smith waiting in the wings to take over as the team’s next closer, losing Clase would hurt, but it wouldn’t be devastating since the bullpen is so strong even without him.
It will be interesting to see if other teams still view him as the dominant closer he has been and cough up a big haul to pry him from Cleveland at the deadline.
NEXT: Guardians Urged To Call Up Top Prospect
