Guardians break silence on Emmanuel Clase suspension
The Guardians' all-world closer was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave by Major League Baseball, and he will remain sidelined through at least August.
Here is what manager Stephen Vogt had to say, via Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal:
'It stinks, it hurts,' Vogt said. 'It's not something we saw coming, not something that we anticipated. It's OK to be upset, it's OK to be hurting, but we're in this together, and it's just a reminder that this game is fragile, this game is special. And it was just a reminder of, we have to do this together and we're going to get through it, but it's going to be hard.'
Vogt also talked about how the Guardians will lean toward matchup-specific pitching decisions rather than trying to replace Clase with one guy. However, if there is a role worth elevating, it is setup man Cade Smith.
Smith has put together another stellar campaign, going 2-4 with a 3.20 ERA, a 2.11 FIP, 65 strikeouts to 17 walks, and 3 saves over 47 outings and 45 innings. The natural progression without Clase leaves Smith, Hunter Gaddis, Jakob Janis, Erik Sabrowski, and Tim Herrin with even greater responsibility.
The Clase situation also clarifies Cleveland's deadline approach.
Before, it was at least worth looking at soft buys to see if this middling club can sneak into the postseason. But, at 52-54 (with the Detroit Tigers just about out of reach), stuck in the Wild Card cluster, selling feels like the better option.
Maybe some team feels like taking a flier on Clase is still viable, especially if he is eligible for the postseason. But, with so much hanging in the balance, that overly risky move will probably dissuade the market.
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