Guardians to prevent Emmanuel Clase from playing in Venezuelan Winter League

Emmanuel Clase was preparing to pitch for the Tiburones de La Guaira of Venezuela’s LVBP this winter, as first reported by Daniel Alvarez Montes of El Extrabase. However, according to a new report from The Athletic’s Evan Drellich, the Cleveland Guardians will not grant Clase the approval he requires in order to play in a winter league outside of his home country.

Clase is a Dominican native, so neither the Guardians nor MLB could have stopped him from playing in LIDOM. Yet, as ESPN’s Enrique Rojas noted earlier this month, LIDOM independently decided to prohibit Clase (and his Guardians teammate Luis Ortiz) from playing in the Dominican Republic this winter. So, Clase turned to the Tiburones instead of the Estrellas Orientales, the LIDOM team for whom he played in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 offseasons. Alvarez Montes suggests the Tiburones will try to dispute the Guardians’ decision, but it’s not a fight they’re likely to win.

Clase and Ortiz have been on non-disciplinary paid administrative leave since July, due to an ongoing MLB investigation related to sports betting. Their leave was originally scheduled to last through Aug. 31, but on Aug. 31, MLB and the MLBPA agreed to extend the leave “until further notice.” 

In a short statement announcing the indefinite extension, the Guardians made clear that they would not comment further until the investigation was complete. Indeed, no meaningful details have since emerged about the situation or either player’s future in MLB. The Athletic’s Zack Meisel reported from Cleveland’s end-of-season press conference on Oct. 7 that there was “still no clarity” regarding either Clase or Ortiz. President of baseball operations Chris Antonetti suggested he’s hopeful the investigation wraps up over the offseason, but he wasn’t able to offer a concrete timeline. “We have to plan as if they won’t be here,” the executive explained.