Emmanuel Clase ( ; born March 18, 1998) is a Dominican professional

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for the

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. Since , the team has played its home gam ...

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(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Texas Rangers, making his debut with the team in 2019. Clase was traded to Cleveland following the 2019 season and became their main closer in 2021. With Cleveland, Clase has been named an

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and led the

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in saves three times, was named AL Reliever of the Year in 2022 and 2024, and is the franchise's all-time save leader.

Career

San Diego Padres

Clase signed with the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

as an international

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on February 11, 2015, for a $125,000

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. He played for the DSL Padres in 2015, going 2–1 with a 1.99 ERA in 54 innings. In 2016 he played for the AZL Padres, going 2–0 with a 4.01 ERA in innings. In 2017 he played for the AZL Padres (2), going 2–4 with a 5.30 ERA in innings, and in one game with the

Tri-City Dust Devils The Tri-City Dust Devils are a Minor League Baseball team based in Pasco, Washington. The Dust Devils are members of the Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States ...

of the Low–A

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseba ...

, allowing 5 runs in innings.

Texas Rangers

On May 7, 2018, the Padres traded Clase to the Texas Rangers as the

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

in an earlier trade for Brett Nicholas. Clase was assigned to the

Spokane Indians The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Co ...

of the Low–A

, and finished the 2018 season after going 1–1 with a 0.64 ERA, 27 strikeouts, and 12 saves in innings. Clase was assigned to the

Down East Wood Ducks The Down East Wood Ducks were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They were located in Kinston, North Carolina, and are named for the wood duck, a colorful local waterfowl. Establi ...

of the High–A

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

to open the 2019 season. He appeared in 6 games for them, going 2–0 with a 0.00 ERA, 1 save, and 11 strikeouts in 7 innings. On April 23, he was promoted to the

Frisco RoughRiders The Frisco RoughRiders (often shortened to 'Riders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. Based in Frisco, Texas, the team is named aft ...

of the Double-A

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, and went 1–2 with a 3.35 ERA and 39 strikeouts over innings. On August 2, 2019, the Rangers selected Clase's contract and promoted him to MLB. He made his MLB debut on August 4, pitching scoreless innings. Clase produced a 2–3 record with a 2.31 ERA and 21 strikeouts over innings in 2019. His cutter was on average the fastest in MLB, at .

Cleveland Indians / Guardians

On December 15, 2019, the Rangers traded Clase and Delino DeShields Jr. to the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

in exchange for

Corey Kluber Corey Scott Kluber (born April 10, 1986) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox. He made his MLB ...

and cash considerations. Clase was suspended for 80 games on May 1, 2020, after testing positive for

Boldenone Boldenone (developmental code name RU-18761), is a naturally occurring anabolic–androgenic steroid (AAS) and the 1(2)- dehydrogenated analogue of testosterone. Boldenone itself has never been marketed; as a pharmaceutical drug, it is used as ...

, a banned PED. Due to the

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and the shortening of the

2020 Major League Baseball season The 2020 Major League Baseball season began on July 23 and ended on September 27 with only 60 games amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The full 162-game regular season was planned to begin on March 26, but the pandemic caused Major League Baseball (M ...

to 60 games, Clase's suspension was lifted at the conclusion of the shortened 2020 season. Clase returned to the Indians' bullpen for the 2021 season. After converting all six save opportunities in August and holding opposing batters to a .095 average, he was named AL Reliever of the Month. In 2021, he was 4–5 with a 1.29 ERA in innings. He also compiled 24 saves in 29 opportunities. On April 2, 2022, Clase agreed to a five-year $20 million extension with the

. In July 2022, Clase was named to his first career All-Star team. He pitched the ninth inning for the American League at

Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a ballpark in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a ...

and struck out the side to get the save and secure a 3–2 victory. In 2022, he was 3–4 with a 1.36 ERA in innings and led MLB in saves. He compiled 42 saves in 46 opportunities. In 2023, Clase was 3–9 with a 3.22 ERA in innings and led MLB in saves for the second year in a row. He complied 44 saves in 56 opportunities. In July 2024, Clase was named to his third career All-Star team. He threw a scoreless ninth inning for the American League to get the save and secure a 5-3 victory. On August 30, Clase recorded his 150th save for Cleveland, passing Cody Allen to become the franchise's all-time save leader. In Game 2 of the

2024 ALDS The 2024 American League Division Series (ALDS) were the two best-of-five playoff series in Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2024 Major League Baseball postseason, 2024 postseason to determine the participating teams of the 2024 American League Cham ...

, Clase gave up a game-winning three-run home run in the ninth inning to

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

slugger Kerry Carpenter. The home run marked the first time Clase had given up a run since August 30, and it was just the third home run he had allowed in the 2024 season. Clase recorded saves in games 4 and 5 that won the series, with the latter being the first six-out save of his Major League career. In Game 3 of the 2024 ALCS, Clase gave up back-to-back home runs in the top of the 8th inning to

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

sluggers

Aaron Judge Aaron James Judge (born April 26, 1992) is an American professional baseball right fielder for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He is a six-time MLB All-Star and two-time American League (AL) Most Valuable Player Award (MVP ...

followed by Giancarlo Stanton. In Game 4, with the game tied in the 9th inning, Clase gave up two more runs as his postseason ERA ballooned to 10.29, compared to his 0.61 ERA in 74 games during the regular season. Following the conclusion of the season, Clase was named AL Reliever of the Year for the second time in his career.

Pitching style

Clase features an upper 90s/low 100s mph

cut fastball Cut or CUT may refer to: Common uses * The act of cutting, the separation of an object into two through acutely directed force ** A type of wound ** Cut (archaeology), a hole dug in the past ** Cut (clothing), the style or shape of a garment ** ...

and a low 90s slider. He has demonstrated an exceptional ability to control his pitches despite throwing at such a high velocity, averaging just 1.6 walks per 9 innings as of September 17, 2024.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clase, Emmanuel 1998 births Living people American League All-Stars American League saves champions Arizona League Padres players Cleveland Guardians players Cleveland Indians players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Republic sportspeople in doping cases Dominican Summer League Padres players Down East Wood Ducks players Estrellas Orientales players Frisco RoughRiders players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic 21st-century Dominican Republic sportsmen Major League Baseball players suspended for drug offenses Sportspeople from María Trinidad Sánchez Province Spokane Indians players Texas Rangers players Tri-City Dust Devils players