Videos emerge of questionable pitches from Emmanuel Clase

Cleveland Guardians reliever Emmanuel Clase was placed on leave by Major League Baseball on Monday amid a gambling investigation, and some videos that have surfaced of pitches that were thrown by the closer this season are raising questions.

The Guardians announced in a statement on Monday that Clase has been placed on non-disciplinary paid leave as part of a sports gambling investigation. The probe is the same one that resulted in Cleveland starting pitcher Luis Ortiz being placed on leave in June.

MLB’s initial investigation began after a betting-integrity firm flagged suspicious wagering activity related to two different pitches that Ortiz threw in June. There was a notable amount of activity from bettors who wagered on Ortiz to miss the strike zone or hit the batter on two specific pitches.

Both pitches were well outside the strike zone, with one bouncing in the dirt. You can see the videos here.

After Clase was also placed on leave, fans began sharing videos that showed instances where the closer also threw pitches at the start of innings that were way outside the strike zone. Some of the pitches bounced in the dirt or nearly hit batters.