After winning 11 of 13 games to climb back into the playoff picture, the Guardians season took a huge hit with the loss of Emmanuel Clase to a Major League Baseball investigation into gambling, the
"It's devastating, no matter how the front office wants to portray it," said Ideastream Public Media sports commentator Terry Pluto.
Other than the , Pluto can't recall a time where two teammates were investigated for gambling in such a short period of time.
"Now, to be fair, nobody has been convicted of anything, but let's put some context on it," Pluto said. "Do you really think MLB wants to have these guys being investigated? That means there's a lot of, not just smoke, but some ashes flying around here."
In the last several years, sports gambling companies have advertised with MLB and their teams. Popular sportsbook , with Bet365 an exclusive partner with the Guardians.
"The last thing (MLB) wants is for something to go sideways with their players because they've discovered this whole new, as they would say, revenue stream," Pluto said.
Ortiz and Clase are the most high profile players to be investigated in recent memory. Former Pirates and Padres infielder last year for betting on games. Cincinnati Reds legend Pete Rose was banned for life when it was discovered he bet on the Reds as a manager. MLB after his death.
Reportedly, Ortiz and Clase are under investigation for influencing "prop" bets. It's suspected the pitchers on the first pitch of certain at-bats.
MLB released a statement saying no other Guardians players or personnel are expected to be part of the investigation.
"I guess we could just say it's sort of a human problem, because how many people do we know that have pretty good lives that take crazy risks with relationships or crazy risks even with their jobs," Pluto said. "Over what? The crazy stuff people do."
Clase, a three-time All-Star, signed a contract extension in 2022 that could have paid him about $30 million, with club options, over the life of the contract.
"He's set for life, but now it's all in jeopardy," Pluto said. "Ortiz, he's on a one year contract, I think it's $460,000 or something, but he was getting lined up for a multi-million dollar deal over the next few years."
The Guardians were counting on Ortiz to be part of their starting rotation for several years . They traded away starting second baseman and one of MLB's top fielders, Andres Gimenez, to get a player they flipped for Ortiz.
Teams throughout MLB drill it into players heads that, although they see gambling ads everywhere, they're not to gamble on baseball, according to Pluto. He also believes the MLB players' union should do more to warn players about the risks involved, including lost future revenue.
The investigation further clouds the July 31 MLB trade deadline for Cleveland, perhaps prompting them to trade who they can, rather than holding steady or even adding players in hopes of another playoff run. Clase was one of the Guardians rumored to be available for a huge asking price.
"(The Guardians) are very good at a lot of those trades for these guys that maybe you've never heard of or barely have and more than half of those prospects have turned out to be good players," Pluto said. "But those, as they call them, assets, are gone. So, you have to hope that some of the guys you have in the minors can perform.
"I am actually speechless in some ways," Pluto said. "I could've come up with 15,000 different things that I could have imagined a doomsday scenario for the Guardians this year. I still wouldn't have got to gambling."