Emmanuel Clase becomes Cleveland's all-time saves leader

It was a back-and-forth game Friday night between the Cleveland Guardians and Pittsburgh Pirates, but nothing was going to stop Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase from making team history.

Called on in the 9th with Cleveland holding a 10-7 lead over Pittsburgh, Clase came into the game ready to shut the door against Pittsburgh. While PIrates legend Andrew McCutchen did get the best of him to start off the inning with a solo home run, Clase would get the next three batters out in order to end the game. This was Clase's American League-leading 40th save of the season and more importantly, his 150th in a Guardians uniform, breaking a tie with Cody Allen for the franchise's all-time leader in this category.

The all-time saves record was something that was definitely within Clase's grasp before the season began, and became even more attainable as he pitched at an elite level throughout this season, passing up quite a few notable names on his way to the top. The further into the season that Clase continued to pitch at this level, the possibility of him taking the franchise's top spot in saves became increasingly possible. Clase's consistent dominance throughout the campaign resulted in him overtaking everyone else at the top of the list before the calendar flipped over to September.

There were some questions heading into this season about Clase's viability at the back end of Cleveland's bullpen coming into the season. 2023 saw the introduction of a few new rule changes, and Clase proceeded to post career worsts in ERA (3.22), WHIP (1.156), and strikeouts per nine (7.9). The good news is that the Guardians stuck by Clase and entrusted him with the task of closing games out, a decision that has clearly paid off well. Clase is sporting career-bests this season in ERA (0.71) and WHIOP (0.679) while finding himself in the thick of the Cy Young conversation. Whether or not he wins the award is a different discussion, but finding himself in the mix this late in the season is a testament to just how dominant he has been on the mound in 2024.

At age 26, Clase will now have the chance to increase his lead in saves to perhaps an unreachable level for anyone who follows in his footsteps as the Guardians closer down the road. There is a lot of baseball left in Clase's career, and there is a very good chance that a team record that saw plenty of names take ownership of it over the years will have Clase's name sticking there for the long haul.