The Cleveland Guardians are having the kind of month that makes you wonder if someone put a curse on their pitching staff. For the second time in less than a month, a high-profile Guardians pitcher has been placed on non-disciplinary leave due to a sports betting probe—this time it’s All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase.
If you’re keeping score at home, that’s two pitchers now sitting in baseball’s version of detention while MLB investigators dig through betting records.
The Latest Casualty
Clase has been placed on non-disciplinary paid leave through August 31 as part of MLB’s investigation into sports gambling, joining teammate Luis Ortiz in the penalty box. The three-time All-Star closer will miss some of the most crucial weeks of the season while lawyers do their thing. This means the Guardians will have to figure out how to close games without one of baseball’s premier ninth-inning specialists, which is like trying to parallel park without a steering wheel.
A Pattern Problem
What makes this particularly awkward is that Clase is now the second Guardians pitcher, after Luis Ortiz, to face gambling investigation issues. At this point, Cleveland’s pitching staff is starting to look like a cautionary tale about sports betting gone wrong.
The timing couldn’t be worse for a team in the thick of a playoff race. Losing two key pitchers to off-field investigations is the kind of drama you definitely don’t want when you’re trying to win a division.
The Bottom Line
These suspensions highlight the messy relationship between professional sports and legal gambling. MLB has embraced betting partnerships while trying to police players’ activities—a balancing act that’s proving trickier than expected.
For now, Cleveland fans can only watch as their team tries to make a playoff push while two key players sit in gambling investigation limbo. The Guardians will need their remaining arms to step up big time, because this is definitely not the kind of bullpen drama anyone ordered. Maybe it’s time for the Guardians to invest in a really good team lawyer—and maybe a sports betting awareness seminar.
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