Cleveland Guardians' Prospects If Two Pitchers Are Permanently Banned

Forbes

3 days ago

The Cleveland Guardians are surging despite being without pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz while MLB investigates their alleged ties to gambling.
Yet does the organization have pitchers ready for the future if both are permanently banned? Depending on how the question is worded, the answer is yes, no and maybe.
What We Know
The longer the investigation goes, the more unlikely it seems that either pitcher will be exonerated. The club has cleared out both players' lockers. Even if they are acquitted, would their teammates accept them back after the ordeal has threatened to torpedo this season?
Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com recently reported that the State of Ohio is conducting its' own investigation. The state may crack down on the kind of bets that raised suspicions in the first place by banning some micro-bets, including first pitches.
'This is not a good news week for the Guardians,' Hoynes said on a podcast.
Ortiz went on the restricted list July 3 pending an MLB investigation into two of his erratically thrown pitches in June. Apparently, large micro-bets were placed on both.
Governor Mike DeWine requested the state inquiry, calling into question in a news release "highly specific events within games that are completely controlled by one player.
'The harm to athletes and the integrity of the game is clear, and the benefits are not worth the harm. The prop betting experiment in this country has failed badly.'
Ortiz was due back on July 17, but 11 days after that, MLB announced that Clase, who had the locker adjacent to Ortiz, was also being investigated. Both are now not due back until August 31, if then.
Cleveland Guardians' Rally
The organization has been tight-lipped about the entire scenario, saying it will let the investigation proceed. After an initial drop on the field, the team – particularly the pitching staff – has rallied.
Cleveland lost its' first four games after Ortiz went on the restricted list July 3. That dropped the Guardians' record to a season-low 40-48. They went 12-5 until Clase also was set down and 9-3 since – 21-8 since the ordeal began.
Lefty Joey Cantillo took Ortiz's rotation spot and is 2-2 with a 4.34 ERA in seven starts. Ortiz had gone 4-9 with a 4.26 ERA in 16 starts. Essentially, it is the same production.
Meanwhile, the rest of the rotation has stepped up. Right-handers Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee and Slade Cecconi and lefty Logan Allen have performed quite well as a group since July 3:
In turn, this has taken pressure off the bullpen. Former setup men Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith each have two saves and rookie Nic Enright got the first of his career.
Others have flourished. Lefty Kolby Allard was designated for assignment on the same day Ortiz was sent home. He re-signed with Cleveland on a minor-league contract and was called up on July 11. In eight outings since, he has a 2.84 ERA, allowing 7 hits and 3 walks over 12 1/3 innings while striking out 13.
Right-hander Jakob Junis is 2-0 with two holds and a 1.42 ERA in 11 outings and rookie Erik Sabrowski has fanned 20 over 13 2/3 innings. The lefty has six holds in 11 outings and allowed one run for a 0.66 ERA.
The Cleveland Guardians' Future
Assuming the worst – that Ortiz and Clase will never wear a Cleveland uniform again, where does that leave the Guardians?
They still have a formidable 1-2 punch at the back end, added minor-league prospect Khal Stephen from the Toronto Blue Jays at the trade deadline, and hope some hard throwers recover from injuries.
Smith has been sensational in 127 2/3 innings over two years, striking out 176 and allowing only 35 walks and 92 hits with a 2.26 ERA. Gaddis, a failed starter, has thrived in relief, fanning 121 and yielding 32 walks and 89 hits over 122 2/3 innings with a 2.35 ERA in 2024-25.
Stephen was 9-1 with a 2.06 ERA in the Toronto farm system this year. He has mild shoulder soreness and is expected to join Double-A Akron soon.
Trevor Stephan, a key Cleveland reliever in 2021-23, was recently activated. He missed all of 2024 and half of 2025 following Tommy John surgery. He's at Triple-A Columbus.
Two hard throwers were expected to join be keys in Cleveland in 2025. Injuries to Andrew Walters and Franco Aleman derailed that.
Walters, 24, a second-round pick in 2023, did not allow a run in nine short outings last September. His 99-mph fastball was to be a welcome addition this year. He had some shoulder stiffness in spring training, pitched well at Columbus, then tore a muscle in his right side in his second outing for the Guardians in May. He had season-ending surgery.
Aleman, often touching 100 mph, fanned 72 and walked only 15 over his final 46 2/3 innings in the minors with a 0.96 ERA through 2024. Early in 2025 spring training, he had hernia surgery and missed six weeks. He has struggled with pitch command at Columbus, giving up more hits than innings pitched with a 6.66 ERA in 26 outings.
One other long-shot, lights-out option could be Daniel Espino. He hasn't faced a batter since 2022. Before that in 33 starts, he struck out 221 over 133 2/3 innings allowing only 89 hits and 53 walks. He was regularly timed in the upper 90s.
Espino missed time in 2022 with tendinitis in his right knee, then had surgery for a torn shoulder tendon. He missed all of 2023 then hurt the shoulder in the spring of 2024 and had another surgery.
'It's heartbreaking in a lot of ways,' Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said then. 'If there's anyone that can overcome this, it's Daniel. I put my money on him.'
Given the unfortunate turn of events, that last sentence may need a rewrite.
And maybe, Walters, Aleman or Espino can revive their careers to help the Cleveland Guardians in 2026.