Cleveland Guardians, Emmanuel Clase agree to five-year contract extension

It’s not the contract extension fans were expecting, but the Cleveland Guardians did lock up closer Emmanuel Clase with a five-year deal.

The Cleveland Guardians have officially locked up their closer for the foreseeable future.

The Guardians and Emmanuel Clase agreed to a five-year, $20 million contract extension this weekend, essentially buying out Clase’s arbitration years and giving the Guardians team options beyond that – $10 million in both 2027 and 2028, which can potentially increase to $13 million.

The deal includes a $2 million signing bonus for Clase with a number of other on-field bonuses, including escalators for winning the Cy Young or placing high in the voting, along with winning the Mariano Rivera/Trevor Hoffman Award, making the All-Star team or being named an LCS or World Series MVP.

For Clase, he probably leaves some money on the table during those arbitration years, especially if he continues his ascent into being one of the best closers in the game. But he now gets guaranteed money and the Guardians will be able to keep one of the key pieces of their bullpen for up to seven years at what could be a discounted rate.

In his first season with the Guardians, Clase held a microscopic 1.29 ERA in 71 appearances, racking up 24 saves and 74 strikeouts in 69 2/3 innings and finishing fifth in the AL Rookie of the Year voting.