The Cleveland Guardians won the American League Central for a second consecutive year last season despite a number of things going against them. There was no bigger setback than star closer Emmanuel Clase likely ending his career after getting caught up in an alleged gambling ring, but Cade Smith stepped into his role fairly seamlessly, and the team didn’t miss a beat.
Clase has been accused of rigging pitches, and plenty of video evidence has come out supporting the claim. Old footage of his appearance show him spiking first-pitch sliders in the dirt on a number of occasions, and now another troubling detail has emerged about the situation.
Zack Meisel of The Athletic recently shared that Clase has been accused of even more shady behavior. Not only did he allegedly rig pitches in the regular season, but he has now been accused of rigging pitches in the team’s 2024 playoff run.
“Emmanuel Clase has been accused of rigging pitches during the Guardians 2024 playoff game, per Zack Meisel,” ESPN Cleveland wrote.
Emmanuel Clase has been accused of rigging pitches during a Guardians 2024 playoff game, per @ZackMeisel. pic.twitter.com/1GXeB97MUt
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) February 13, 2026
As if things couldn’t get any worse, this will push every single fan to turn on him if they haven’t already. Clase had a historic 2024 season and announced himself as the best closer in baseball with a 0.61 ERA, but it looks like he threw it all away for next to nothing.
The fact that this might have happened in the playoffs is devastating to hear because Clase’s performance in the 2024 postseason was abhorrent. He had a 9.00 ERA and gave up more earned runs in the postseason than he did in the regular season, and blew Game 4 of the ALCS that would have tied the series against the New York Yankees and potentially positioned the Guardians to make the World Series.
Obviously, this is still an ongoing investigation. It’s unfathomable that he potentially threw away tens of millions of dollars for at most a few thousand dollars to flush a potential Hall of Fame career down the toilet.
NEXT: Insider Raises Questions If Guardians Should Pursue Troubled Player
