Guardians get much-needed payroll clarity after MLB's Emmanuel Clase decision

While the Cleveland Guardians didn’t get any clarity about the fates of pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz on Friday, they did get a better idea of how much they’re going to need to pay them in 2026. 

Turns out it’s nothing at all. 

On Friday, MLB announced that Clase and Ortiz’s will be shifted to unpaid, non-disciplinary leave for the start of the 2026 season for their part in an alleged pitch-rigging scheme. They had both previously been on paid leave. 

Clase and Ortiz’s fate has loomed over the Guardians like the Sword of Damocles, so Friday’s update gives the Guardians some clarity on how much they needed to put aside for the two suspended pitchers in 2026. 

Clase was set to make $6.4 million in 2026 while Ortiz was going to make the league minimum. Both players are currently on the restricted list. 

“As the legal proceedings involving Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz continue to move forward, MLB and the MLBPA have agreed that both players will remain on non-disciplinary leave from the Club without pay until further notice,” MLB’s announcement said. “This agreement is not an admission of any wrongdoing by Clase or Ortiz. MLB has been closely monitoring the matter since alerting federal law enforcement at the outset of its investigation and will have no further comment until its investigation has been completed.”

The Guardians won’t need to worry about paying Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz in 2026

This saga started last July when Ortiz was placed on paid leave, where he was joined by Clase about two weeks later. 

In the time since, we’ve found out that both pitchers were under investigation for an alleged pitch rigging investigation where they worked with bettors to make money on pitches that would purposely be balls. 

Both pitchers were indicted last November and were set to go to trial this May, but that was pushed back to November. The Guardians would have been on the hook for both players' salaries had MLB not shifted their leave to unpaid. 

Clase had allegedly been involved in the pitch-rigging scheme since 2023 (he’s alleged to have rigged pitches during the 2024 postseason), while Ortiz is alleged to have joined the scheme after he joined the Guardians in 2025. 

While the Guardians now have about $7ish more million to use, free agency has come and gone. That said, the Guardians could use those funds to upgrade their roster at the trade deadline or on an extension for a homegrown player. 

Even if Friday’s news doesn’t remove the pitchers from the Guardians’ radar for good, it was a much-needed first step toward the Guardians being able to move forward.