The Cleveland Guardians have dealt with some major distractions away from the baseball diamond this year. Two Guardians players, Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, are under a gambling investigation by Major League Baseball. Despite this turmoil, the Guardians are trying to push forward as best they can.
“Our message to the guys was that we don’t know what we don’t know,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said, per USA Today. “All we can control is us working hard every day. I mean, our guys are resilient. These guys have handled things over the last year and a half, so they’re built for it.’’
Both Clase and Ortiz currently do not have lockers in the team clubhouse. This is in despite of the fact that both players have been key contributors for Cleveland. Clase was working as the team's closer, while Ortiz was a starting pitcher for the club.
“This definitely is a huge loss to the team,” Cleveland's new closer Cade Smith said. “They’re gone. We don’t know if they’re coming back. But we have no choice but to forget about it and move on. We've got no choice.”
The Guardians are currently 64-64 on the season. Cleveland has lost eight of their last 10 games.
These two Guardians pitchers face an uncertain future
Clase and Ortiz are forced by MLB to sit out while the league conducts a full-scale investigation. Both are on paid leave until August 31, but that deadline could be moved even farther back.
“I’ve talked to them a little bit,” Guardians first baseman Carlos Santana said. “I don’t really know what to say. I hope they’ll be OK. But I don’t know. I don’t know what happened. None of us do.”
MLB is investigating gambling activity that allegedly occurred on games that both Clase and Ortiz participated in. There is still a lot of information that has not been revealed, due to the probe being active.
Since the players were suspended in July, the Guardians have struggled. The team is currently on a four-game losing streak. Still, the players on the current roster refuse to make excuses for their lackluster play.
“Honestly, we’ve lost lots of guys to injuries or guys who have been optioned or whatever,” Guardians catcher Austin Hedges said. “In baseball, it’s not a 26-man roster. It’s more like a 40-, 50-, 60-man roster. Our group is so resilient, whatever 26 we’re going to throw out there, we’re going to believe in them.”
Cleveland is trying to snap the losing streak on Sunday. The Guardians face off against the Texas Rangers.
