Nationals-Mariners trade is stark reminder of what Emmanuel Clase took from Guardians

In July, the Guardians lost Emmanuel Clase off their roster in a way that no one expected. While Clase leaving the Guardians roster was in the realm of possibility thanks to his name being front and center in trade talks. 

But instead the Guardians ended up losing Clase for nothing when he was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave as a part of an investigation into sports betting. 

That leave hurt the Guardians twofold. First, it removed him from the roster, meaning the Guardians didn’t get to take advantage of his all-world skillset. But it also meant that the team’s front office never got a chance to capitalize on that skillset in the trade market — a loss that felt more acute after the Giants got three prospects in exchange for Tyler Rogers.

That theme played out again over the weekend when the Mariners traded catching prospect Harry Ford to the Washington Nationals in exchange for reliever Jose Ferrer. 

While Ford’s prospect ranking has taken a bit of a hit in the time since he was MLB Pipeline’s No. 39 prospect in baseball prior to the 2024 season, he was still a premium prospect who could be a successful major leaguer, even if his long-term future likely isn’t behind the dish. 

The Nationals' return for Jose Ferrer will likely frustrate Guardians fans 

At face value, the Mariners trade for Ferrer looks a bit confusing given he’s coming off a season where he had a 4.42 ERA in 76 1/3 innings for the lowly Nationals. But there’s a lot to love under the hood. 

The left-handed throwing Ferrer posted a groundball rate of 64% and walked just 4.6% of the hitters he faced. He relies heavily on a sinker that fits around 98 miles per hour, and can generate plenty of swing and miss with his secondary stuff. 

He’s already proven he can be a solid platoon pitcher (lefties had a .160 batting average against him), and there’s enough to assume that he can get better against right-handed hitters. 

But it’s clear that he’s not the same kind of pitcher that Clase is. Even though Clase had a subpar 3.23 ERA prior to getting suspended last year, he led all of baseball in saves in 2022, ‘23 and ‘24 and was coming off a season where he had a 0.61 ERA. 

He would have been the best relief pitcher in baseball available at the trade deadline, and the Guardians would have been able to get a king’s ransom in return for him should they have decided to trade him. 

Although Cade Smith's nearly seamless ascension to becoming the full-time closer has made the loss of Clase sting a little less, every trade involving an impact reliever still serves as a reminder of what the Guardians missed out on.