Yankees' Bullpen Plans Disrupted With Emmanuel Clase Suspension

Talk about coming out of left field. Nobody saw the Cleveland Guardians losing their closer, Emmanuel Clase, to a gambling investigation-related suspension. If they were going to lose him, it would be via trade, not a League probe. 

Of course, the Guardians aren’t the only team affected by this stunner. The Yankees, who have a well-known need for relief help, were said by many to be inquiring as to Clase’s potential availability ahead of Thursday’s Trade Deadline. 

Those inquiries have now ended as Clase has been placed on “non-disciplinary paid leave” through at least the month of August. No team is going to try and trade for a player who, very well might be sidelined for the rest of the season if the investigation runs long or if evidence turns up that confirms his guilt. 

Clase wasn’t having as dominant a season as last year when he had a 0.61 ERA, a league-leading 47 saves and finished third in the AL Cy Young race. But his 24 saves and 3.23 ERA this year would still give him the second-best ERA of any Yankees reliever with at least 47 innings pitched, behind only Tim Hill’s 2.77. 

New York must now pivot to other potentially available arms and with one less reliever on the market, the prices for those whom the Yankees are inquiring about are sure to rise. David Bednar is likely the best possible relief pitcher available, but the Pirates aren’t going to give him away for free and now that Clase is off the board, they will almost certainly ask for more in return. 

Another thing to consider is that this is Clase’s second time being suspended by The League, as he did not play in 2020 due to an 80-game PED suspension. While those two punishments are not related, they will raise further red flags for any team who might be interested in acquiring him in the future.