As the World Series begins, Major League Baseball owes the Cleveland Guardians a resolution soon on the Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase gambling investigation.
It has been 110 days since Guardians’ pitcher
Luis Ortiz was placed on administrative leave in connection to a gambling investigation and 85 days since Guardians’ closer Emmanuel Clase joined him there for the same reason. There is no finish line for the investigation, with Major League Baseball offering no timetable for a resolution. When asked about how the team will handle the two players during their offseason maneuvering, President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti stated that the team has no choice but to assume Ortiz and Clase will not throw another pitch for the team.
Allow me to be a little presumptuous – there is no way that Major League Baseball would force the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox or Los Angeles Dodgers to enter an offseason with no resolution in a case like this. Those premier franchises would not be forced to operate under scenarios where they might be ask to fit two players back on their active roster at any moment, or be forced to replace two key roster pieces without knowing for sure if they will ever return to game action. If the Yankees, Red Sox or Dodgers WERE asked to accommodate this uncommonly lengthy investigation, the league would face tremendous heat from the coastal media. Luckily for MLB, they can make things hard on Cleveland without a noticeable blip in negative press.
One blog post isn’t going to change this, but I will state without equivocation that it will be inexcusable if MLB expects the Guardians’ franchise to go another month, let alone multiple months, without resolution on the Ortiz and Clase investigations. If MLB doesn’t have enough evidence to conclude either or both players were involved in gambling, then exonerate them and let the team proceed as best they can. If MLB has evidence that either or both were involved in gambling, then let the Guardians know that a suspension is forthcoming while the league assembles all the evidence needed for a lifetime ban, if needed. The investigation having no firm ending in view is an untenable situation for a baseball club trying to assemble a winning roster for 2026. It is not the Cleveland Guardians’ fault that two of their players allegedly made the terrible decision to bet on baseball games. The franchise should not be punished for the actions of two individuals, and the lack of resolution on this issue is about to produce additional adversity for the team (other than that already experienced during the season and playoffs) if a decision isn’t reached before free agency.
I understand that MLB does not want negative news during the World Series. Fine. The series will conclude no later than Sunday, November 1st. No later than Tuesday, November 3rd at 10am they can offer a press release and let everyone get on with their lives. The Guardians should not be punished by being forced to wait for the league’s PR concerns. Especially not for a league that has formed partnerships with every sports gambling company it can find… but that’s another article altogether.
I assume that Ortiz and Clase are guilty. I would be pleasantly surprised to discover they are not, and I am open to the idea that perhaps they were coerced by some bad people into poor decisions. But, regardless, this investigation cannot simply continue indefinitely if MLB wants to be fair and equitable to one of its oldest and most respected franchises. Give the Guardians resolution, MLB… or I’m going to be forced to be mad online.
