Guardians Closer Emmanuel Clase Suspended Amid MLB Gambling Investigations

Progressive Field — Photo by Chris Chow on Unsplash

Cleveland Guardians All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase has been suspended and placed on non-disciplinary paid leave as Major League Baseball investigates potential sports betting violations.

Earlier this month, fellow Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz was also placed on non-disciplinary leave as part of a similar suspension. Both players will be sidelined until Aug. 31.

Ortiz Investigation Centers on Unusual Betting Activity for Pitch Outcomes

Ortiz was suspended on July 3 after industry watchdog IC360 detected unusual betting activity on two pitches he threw for balls last month. ESPN sources said the pitches in question were Ortiz’s first pitch in the bottom of the second inning against the Seattle Mariners (June 15) and in the top of the third inning against the Cardinals (June 27). Both pitches missed the strike zone by a wide margin.

It’s unclear whether Clase now falls under the same investigation that started with Ortiz. Both players would face a lifetime ban if found guilty of gambling on games. There’s a precedent for that, as evidenced by the lifetime ban imposed on former Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Tucupita Marcano last year.

Meanwhile, the Guardians noted in a statement that they were “informed that no additional players or club personnel are expected to be impacted by the investigation.”

‘Micro Bets’ Face Increasing Scrutiny After Suspensions

Micro bets are proposition bets made on the next play in a game. Proposition bets are made without regard to the actual outcome of a game, but micro bets inherently lend themselves more to possible spot-fixing.

Earlier this week, New Jersey introduced a new bill that proposes a ban on micro bets during live sports events. Democratic Assemblyman Dan Hutchison, who sponsored the bill, said: “This legislation isn’t about banning sports betting. It’s about setting boundaries to ensure it’s done responsibly. By banning micro bets, we would be taking a clear stand against predatory practices that push people toward irresponsible gambling habits.”

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred remains a proponent of legal gambling, but expressed concerns about micro bets at the MLB All-Star Game earlier this month.

Manfred said: “There are certain types of bets that strike me as unnecessary and particularly vulnerable. I know there was a lot of sports betting, tons of it that went on illegally, and we had no idea, no idea what threats there were to the integrity of the play because it was all not transparent.”

“I firmly believe that the transparency and monitoring that we have in place now, as a result of the legalization and the partnerships that we’ve made, puts us in a better position to protect baseball than we were in before.”

Maintaining the integrity of the game has always been paramount.

Prop bets or micro bets represent an ongoing challenge for sports leagues trying to preserve the integrity of each play. As legal sports betting continues to proliferate around the US it will be interesting to see how the MLB responds in the wake of these events — and potentially more in the future — going forward.