Cleveland Guardians clear out Emmanuel Clase, Luis L. Ortiz lockers with both on leave

USA Today

01-08-2025

The Cleveland Guardians' clubhouse had some notable changes on the afternoon of Friday, Aug. 1.
The lockers for closer Emmanuel Clase and starting pitcher Luis L. Ortiz were cleared out, according to Zack Meisel of The Athletic.
Both players were placed on leave in July, related to an ongoing investigation into gambling by Major League Baseball. If they are found guilty, both could potentially receive a lifetime ban.
It was not made clear if a decision had been reached involving the two players or if it is just potential locker changes in the clubhouse following the conclusion of the MLB trade deadline on July 31.
MLB's investigation into Luis Ortiz is about these two individual pitches which received action flagged by a betting-integrity firm, per @JeffPassan pic.twitter.com/2zvZhmrTlJ
Why was Luis L. Ortiz placed on leave?
Ortiz was placed on leave on July 3 after two of his pitches received unusual gambling activity.
Both were sliders outside of the strike zone at the start of an inning in games played in June.
Some gambling websites allow users to bet on the first pitch of an MLB at-bat.
Why was Emmanuel Clase placed on leave?
Clase's name surfaced during the investigation that involved Ortiz.
The league is looking to see if Clase had violated the MLB's gambling policy.
Clase has been considered as one of the league's best closers and his name was mentioned in trade rumors leading up to the deadline.
While the Guardians could have received a nice return in a trade for the three-time All-Star, instead, they still have Clase under contract with some uncertainty about his future.