Emmanuel Clase drama could make this crushing Guardians deadline move a reality 

On Saturday night, the Guardians fought back in Game 2 of their doubleheader against the Royals to pick up a big win that moved them back to .500 ahead of a crucial stretch of play ahead of the trade deadline.

While the walk-off loss in Game 1 still lingered, Game 2’s win was a buttoned up affair highlighted by a Steven Kwan home run and an Emmanuel Clase save. 

Fast forward 72 hours, and things feel completely different. On Monday, MLB announced that Clase had been suspended due to an investigation into sports betting and will be out until the start of September at the earliest. 

While that suspension has plenty of short-term ramifications (the bullpen failed to pick up the win in his absence on Monday), it also has plenty of long-term ones, some of which will start at this year’s trade deadline. 

Emmanuel Clase drama could make this crushing Guardians deadline move a reality 

In a new story for The Athletic (subscription required), MLB insider Ken Rosenthal broke down how Clase’s suspension could impact the Guardians at the trade deadline, and it’s not great. 

“[Clase’s] suspension ended any chance of the Guardians becoming a buyer, and likely increased the possibility of the team trading right-hander Shane Bieber and perhaps left fielder Steven Kwan,” he wrote. 

While trading Bieber would hurt considering all he’s meant to the team in his time with Cleveland, he hasn’t been a full-time MLB contributor in nearly two years. Kwan, on the other hand, is under team control for two more years and has emerged as one of Cleveland's biggest success stories in the past decade. 

He’s a two-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner who has a unique and valuable profile that directly impacts winning for the Guardians. He may not have the all-around pop that some teams covet in outfielders, but he’s a pesky leadoff hitter who sees a lot of pitches, puts the ball in play and plays stellar defense. 

According to Rosenthal, the Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres are among the teams in on Kwan, though he also said that he’s drawing a “ton” of interest around the league. 

Earlier this month, ESPN’s Jeff Passan hypothesized the Guardians may look to package Clase and Kwan to the Phillies in a trade that seemed far-fetched. Now it seems like that kind of trade is the new reality (sans Clase, of course). 

The only shining light in a hypothetical Kwan trade is that the Guardians would likely be able to get a king’s ransom for him. 

It remains to be seen what they’d be able to get for Bieber, who is going to be making a rehab start today at Double-A Akron. He has yet to appear in a major league game since April 2024 and has already had his rehab delayed due to some soreness in his arm. 

The fact he hasn’t appeared in a game this year doesn’t mean he won’t get traded, though it could impact the kind of return the Guardians are able to get for him.  

But no matter what the Guardians do, the fact they now have to operate as sellers (or at least non-buyers) is a bit depressing considering how hard they worked to get back into the postseason race. Although they likely were never going to be all-in, it seemed like they were prepared to make a couple moves to improve the roster on the margins. 

Now we have to prepare to see how deep the sell-off is going to go.