The Cleveland Guardians were swimming upstream in a playoff race. Their season was a tightrope walk of elite pitching versus a quiet offense. Then, all of a sudden, a storm developed and threatened to capsize everything in this franchise. This crisis did not begin with a bang but with a whisper, a digital anomaly. It started when an algorithm flagged unusual bets on two separate dates, June 15 and June 27. The bets were centred on an unusual proposition involving starter Luis L. Ortiz.

The investigation quickly gained momentum, creating a domino effect of disaster. First, MLB put Ortiz on paid leave shortly before his anticipated start on July 3. On July 28, the league then implicated the team’s star closer, Emmanuel Clase. Two crucial arms were sidelined by this stunning move during the most important stretch of the season. The Guardians organization remained tight-lipped, bound by a league agreement. But in the clubhouse, the team was preparing to make a move that spoke louder than any news release ever could.

And then the gut-punch, a blow that goes through a clubhouse in silence. Jomboy Media amplified a report from The Athletic’s Zack Meisel on August 1. The tweet simply said, “Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz’s lockers have been cleared out in the Guardians clubhouse, per @ZackMeisel.” Emptying a locker is the ultimate signal, and it’s a nonverbal statement that the organization is turning the page.

Meisel went into the issue in detail in an interview with 92.3 The Fan. The insider put forth a very serious prediction for the two pitchers. “I have a hard time envisioning them ever pitching in Major League Baseball again, honestly,” he said. He drew a parallel to Tucupita Marcano’s recent lifetime ban: “It was a guy who was injured sitting on the couch. He bet on his team. He had no influence on that… this is different.” For pitchers who have the fate of the game in their hands, the standard is absolute.

The veteran reporter drove his point home, highlighting the most important rules. Meisel noted that one principle existed long before the current era of betting. “This is rule number one, right? This goes back to the Black Sox,” he explained. The bottom line is simple and unforgiving. When a player can directly influence the action on the field, trust is everything. Meisel bluntly stated, “You’re the one dictating what is happening, and if that can’t be trusted, then there is no gray area there.”

But the team’s move is very surprising given Clase’s status in the game. The flame-throwing closer is a three-time All-Star with a Mariano Rivera Award to his name. Before his exit, he put up a 3.23 ERA with 24 saves in 48 appearances. His team-friendly $20 million contract made him a huge trade asset. This wasn’t his first big issue, as he previously served an 80-game PED suspension in 2020.

Luis L. Ortiz, on the other hand, was a piece in the development of the team’s future. The 26-year-old starter was in his first season with the team. In 16 starts, he was 4-9 with an ERA of 4.36. While not a star, Ortiz was a controllable asset under team control through 2030.

Losing a young starter messed up the rotation, but losing an elite closer cripples a team’s very identity. The Guardians suddenly lost two promising players.

The Fallout: Rules, Replacements, and Reactions

The on-field impact for Cleveland was painful. The Guardians promoted lefty Joey Cantillo from Triple-A Columbus to fill Ortiz’s role. Cantillo struggled with command issues, having a 4.14 ERA in only 50 innings. The attempt to fill Clase’s role was even more catastrophic. Manager Stephen Vogt opted for a “closer-by-committee” strategy. Cade Smith was given the first opportunity and immediately blew a save, charged with four runs in a brutal loss. His earned run average for the month of July swelled to 5.40 in 12 appearances.

The team was in an upset state, and the staff was very frustrated. Manager Stephen Vogt, in a late July presser, had it out. “I’m not happy. This stinks… Two of our guys are being investigated — and it hurts,” he said. Reliever Cade Smith echoed the sentiment, stating, “He’s a part of the team. It sucks for him to be not here today.”The scandal also drew a sharp response from Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. He called for a state-wide ban on player-specific prop bets, declaring, “The prop betting experiment in this country has failed badly.”

The Guardians have a record of 54-54, which keeps them in second place in the AL Central as of August 1, 2025. The performance of the team throughout the season has been decent enough. They boast the MLB’s best team ERA but have one of its worst offenses, ranking fifth-lowest in runs scored per game. José Ramírez, the third baseman, is the only bright spot for the team as he leads in home runs and RBIs, 21 and 56, respectively.

With their pitching depth now compromised, can the Guardians find a way forward, or will this scandal prove to be the final blow to their postseason hopes?