How Much Did The Emmanuel Clase News Affect Guardians Trade Deadline Plans?

This time last week, the Cleveland Guardians held plenty of leverage in trade discussions with rival teams.

They had arguably the best reliever on the market, Emmanuel Clase, under a team-friendly contract for the foreseeable future, and were reportedly willing to trade him for what could have been an absolute haul of prospects or big-league level talent.

However, MLB announced on Monday that Clase was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave as part of its gambling investigation into Luis Ortiz. 

Suddenly, Cleveland lost one of their most important players on the field, and their biggest trade chip, who was no longer even allowed to be traded.

So, how much did the Clase and Ortiz situation affect Cleveland’s trade deadline plans?

Chris Antonetti, Guardians President of Baseball Operations, spoke to the media on Thursday evening and did his best to provide some clarity on that question.

“Yeah, there are a lot of different considerations that we had to weight around this time of year,” Antonetti said. “The unexpected developments [of Clase and Ortiz] recently were certainly one of them. But in the end, I think we feel good about the roster that we have for the balance of 2025 and are excited about our future.”

WATCH Chris Antonetti’s Entire Press Conference Following The 2025 MLB Trade Deadline