Guards closer Clase placed on paid leave as part of betting investigation

Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase has been placed on non-disciplinary paid leave as part of a Major League Baseball investigation into sports betting. Clase, a three-time All-Star, becomes the second Guardians pitcher to be placed on leave in connection with a sports gambling probe. Luis Ortiz also is on non-disciplinary leave through Aug. 31. It was unclear if the cases were related. The Guardians said in a statement that the organization "(has) been informed that no additional players or club personnel are expected to be impacted." The 27-year-old Clase is 5-3 with 24 saves in 48 games this year, but he also has a career-high 3.23 ERA. The right-hander led the AL in saves in each of the previous three years and was believed to be on the market ahead of this week's MLB trade deadline. "I'm not happy. This stinks," Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said before Monday night's game against visiting Colorado. "It's a different part of our game now because it's legal. Two of our guys are being investigated — and it hurts. It's an unfortunate situation." Major League Baseball has been monitoring sports gambling more closely since a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in May 2018 struck down a federal law that had barred betting on football, basketball, baseball and other sports in most states. MLB said in a statement that Clase — per an agreement with the players' association — had been placed on leave while the league "continues its sports betting investigation." It declined further comment. A spokeswoman for the Major League Baseball Players Association declined comment Monday night. Chris Antonetti, the president of baseball operations for the Guardians, said he was informed of the situation with Clase on Sunday. He met with his coaching staff and the players before the series opener against the Rockies. Cleveland began the day in second place in the AL Central with a 52-53 record. Vogt said the plan is to go with a closer-by-committee approach for now. "He's a part of the team," reliever Cade Smith said. "It sucks for him to be not here today." The Ortiz investigation is related to in-game prop bets on two pitches thrown by the right-hander that received higher activity than usual during his starts at Seattle on June 15 and against St. Louis on June 27. The gambling activity on the pitches was flagged by a betting-integrity firm and forwarded to MLB. The pair of Cleveland pitchers on leave comes after MLB suspended five players for gambling in June 2024, including a lifetime ban for San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano. MLB said Marcano placed 387 baseball bets totaling more than $150,000 with a legal sportsbook in 2022 and 2023. Athletics pitcher Michael Kelly and three minor leaguers — San Diego pitcher Jay Groome, Arizona pitcher Andrew Saalfrank and Philadelphia infielder José Rodríguez — received one-year suspensions. Umpire Pat Hoberg was fired by MLB in February for sharing his legal sports gambling accounts with a friend who bet on baseball games, and for intentionally deleting electronic messages pertinent to the league's investigation. ___ AP freelance writer Brian Dulik in Cleveland contributed to this report. ___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB