Just prior to the 2025 MLB trade deadline Major League Baseball launched a gambling investigation into Emmanuel Clase . The Cleveland Guardians ’ All-Star reliever and teammate Luis Ortiz were placed on non-disciplinary paid leave while MLB’s inquiry played out.

The investigation, which is still ongoing, sidelined both pitchers for the remainder of the 2025 season. Clase, a native of the Dominican Republic, planned to pitch for Estrellas Orientales in the team’s winter season. But the Dominican baseball league banned Clase and Ortiz from joining the team.

Clase then pivoted, choosing to pitch for the Tiburones de La Guaira in the Venezuelan winter league instead. But, because the two-time AL Reliever of the Year is not a Venezuelan native and is under an MLB contract, he needed Cle

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