Guardians fans will never forgive Emmanuel Clase after seeing Tyler Rogers trade return

The Cleveland Guardians are now having to prepare for a world without Emmanuel Clase due to the relievers's suspension as a part of MLB's sports betting investigation.

On Wednesday, they got another reminder of how much they missed out on with Clase's suspension after the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets linked up for one of the more confusing trades in recent MLB memory.

Guardians fans will never forgive Emmanuel Clase after seeing Tyler Rogers trade return

The Mets, who entered play on Wednesday leading the National League East by 1/2 games, staked their claim as buyers by acquiring reliever Tyler Rogers from the Mets in exchange for reliever José Buttó, outfield prospect Drew Gilbert and pitching prospect Blade Tidwell.

That's right: the Giants got two of the Mets' top prospects and a quality MLB reliever in exchange for Rogers.

Is your head done spinning yet?

While Rogers is a good reliever (1.50 ERA in 50 innings), he's a rental reliever who relies on soft contact and deception.

After seeing that extreme return, it's only fair to imagine what the Guardians could have gotten for Clase at this year's deadline. While they didn't need to trade him, it seemed like they were listening to offers on him in the hopes that some team would blow them away. After seeing this trade, it seems abudently clear that would have happened

Although the loss of Clase would have stung and would have made Cleveland's big league roster worse, it also would have allowed for them to retstock their farm system using a position of depth. Instead, they now have to adapt to a world without Clase without getting any kind of prospect reinforcement.

Tidwell, the Mets' No. 10 prospect, has a fastball that can reach 98 miles per hour and projects to be a solid middle-of-the-rotation arm. He made his MLB debut with the Mets earlier this year and allowed 15 earned runs in 15 innings.

Gilbert was the centerpiece of the Mets' return from the Astros for Justin Verlander in 2023 and has hit .252 across 88 minor league games this season.

Buttó has a 3.64 ERA in 47 innings this year and has appeared in every MLB season since 2022. He's under team control until 2031.

These aren't lottery ticket prospects. These are guys that could help the Giants at some point this year and would fit into the team's long-term core.

The Guardians need those kind of players. As of now, it seems like the only way they'll be able to get those kind of players if they trade away Steven Kwan and Shane Bieber, which is the kind of trade that also subtracts from their long-term core.

A trade of Clase could have set the Guardians up for success in both the present and future. Instead they're going to have to sit and watch the rest of baseball cash in on their relievers.