Despite an absolutely remarkable turnaround in which they surged from fourth place in July to winning the AL Central come late September, the Cleveland Guardians are in the headlines for the wrong reason. The gambling scandal involving Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz took another turn a few days ago when the duo was arraigned on multiple charges. Cleveland president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti opened up to The Athletic's Zack Meisel on Wednesday. Antonetti revealed how proud he was of the team he'd helped assemble following the suspensions of Clase and Ortiz.
“We arguably played our best baseball after they left,” Antonetti said Wednesday to Meisel. “It’s one of the things I’m most proud of our team for.”
The Guardians certainly did play their best baseball once Clase and Ortiz left the team. Their lockers were cleaned out after the trade deadline. Ortiz was arraigned in a Brooklyn courthouse on Wednesday, and Clase was expected to follow suit on Thursday. Now, Cleveland will continue to move forward without both players. Can the Guardians once again use this scandal as fuel for an even brighter 2026?
Guardians' historic second half could lead to brighter 2026
The Guardians' march to the top of the AL Central was one of baseball's biggest storylines of the second half. While Ortiz's contributions to the starting rotation were helpful, the loss of Clase was a massive one, at least in July. The closer was one of baseball's best at his position. If Cleveland did end up trading him before last season's deadline, he would have certainly netted a big haul. However, Antonetti and the Guardians' brass will now need to determine how to best replace both pitchers.
Luckily, the upcoming free agent and trade market has options. Many veteran relievers with closing experience, like Raisel Iglesias, Robert Suarez, and Kenley Jansen, will be free agents. Antonetti and the Guardians' leadership will also have options at starting pitcher as they look to improve on a roster that captured their division for the second straight year before falling to the team they overtook, the Detroit Tigers, in the AL Wild Card round. If Cleveland can redeem itself following a heartbreaking end to last season, will another trip to the World Series follow?
