Just a week ago, the Los Angeles Dodgers were getting ready without much fanfare. They were fine-tuning their strategy for when trades would be allowed, and a key part of it centered around a player who had caught their attention: a top-notch reliever, with playoff know-how and impressive speed, on their pitches. The front office saw him not only as a bullpen upgrade but as a potential October difference-maker. That plan came crashing down Sunday night.

Emmanuel Clase, the Cleveland Guardians’ All-Star closer and a top target for the Dodgers and other contenders, has been placed on non-disciplinary paid leave by Major League Baseball. According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Clase is being sidelined as part of an ongoing sports-betting investigation, a development that now removes him from the trade market entirely just days before the August 1 deadline.

In a public statement issued by the Guardians on July 28, the team confirmed it had been notified by MLB and that Clase’s placement on leave was in agreement with the Players Association. The organization emphasized that “no additional players or Club personnel are expected to be impacted” and stated they would not comment further while respecting the league’s confidential investigative process.

Clase’s leave runs through August 31, meaning he is effectively ineligible to be moved at the deadline. For the Dodgers, who had quietly built their relief strategy around acquiring the flamethrowing right-hander, it’s a last-minute curveball no one anticipated. With a 100+ MPH cutter and 110 saves over the past three seasons, Clase had the dominance and postseason upside that contenders crave.

Now, Los Angeles is left scrambling. Secondary options like Tanner Scott or Kyle Finnegan don’t bring the same electricity or shutdown pedigree. And with the league tightening its grip on gambling-related conduct, even whispers of suspicion are enough to collapse a deal.

For the Dodgers, this isn’t just a trade that fell apart; it’s a high-stakes reminder that in today’s MLB, off-field risks can shift on-field plans in an instant.

A pattern emerges: The league’s recent gambling suspensions

This isn’t the first time Major League Baseball has had to act swiftly and decisively on gambling-related behavior. In fact, the league has already drawn a firm line in the sand. Just last year, MLB banned five players for violating its gambling policies, including a lifetime suspension for Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano, who placed 387 baseball bets totaling over $150,000. Three other minor leaguers and Athletics pitcher Michael Kelly were each hit with one-year bans. The message was clear: bet on baseball, and you’re done.

It doesn’t stop there. Even an umpire wasn’t spared. In February, Pat Hoberg, a respected official, was fired for sharing his sportsbook accounts with a friend who bet on MLB games. He also intentionally deleted messages relevant to the investigation, further compounding the league’s concern over transparency and accountability. These aren’t minor violations, they’re warning flares. As sports betting becomes legal in more states, the league is doing everything it can to keep that growing influence from seeping into the game’s integrity.

“This is one of baseball’s biggest concerns right now,” MLB Network’s Jayson Stark said on MLB Now (July 28, 2025), “whether players are betting on the sport in any way.” And that’s the crux of the matter: MLB’s rules are crystal clear, and players are strictly prohibited from betting on baseball games under any circumstances. It doesn’t matter if it’s through a legal app or an offshore site. The league’s fear isn’t rooted in fantasy; it’s in patterns that keep emerging.

From Marcano to Clase, the risk isn’t hypothetical anymore. It’s showing up in clubhouses, and MLB isn’t he sitating to act.