.jpg)
8 hours ago
2
The Cleveland Guardians have spent the bulk of the season as one of the sport's bigger disappointments, failing to build upon an American League Central title and hovering just under .500 in the week before the trade deadline.
In July, Cleveland has turned scandalous. On July 3, starter Luis Ortiz was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave as the league began investigating his potential role in a gambling scheme. Two non-competitive first-pitch balls saw a spike in action, suggesting that somebody knew what was coming. Monday afternoon, star closer Emmanuel Clase was also placed on leave as part of the same investigation.
The news will keep Cleveland's top reliever on the shelf as the Guardians attempt to save their season. Subsequently, Clase's absence has a legitimate impact on the trade market in the final days before Thursday's deadline.
How Clase's paid leave impacts Cade Smith
Clase isn't getting moved by Thursday. That takes a high-profile reliever off the trade block, shaping the bullpen market as things come down to the wire.
Relievers are always a hot commodity in July, but the 2025 deadline appeared to have a handful of elite late-inning arms on bad teams ready to be moved. The Minnesota Twins could still deal Jhoan Duran or Griffin Jax, the St. Louis Cardinals will almost certainly trade Ryan Helsley, and the Pittsburgh Pirates might move David Bednar or Dennis Santana.
Guardians reliever Cade Smith might be better than all of them. As Cleveland sinks out of contention, he remains a possible trade target, albeit an unlikely one.
In Jeff Passan's ranking of deadline candidates, Smith was the eighth-best player and second-best reliever, trailing only Duran.
"Smith has been the best reliever in baseball by WAR since the beginning of the 2024 season, and with more than 13 strikeouts per nine innings this year, he is the solution to many teams' late-inning woes," he wrote. "With four more years of control, he's also going to be prohibitively expensive for most teams, making a deal difficult to come by."
As Passan noted, Smith is going to be expensive. His high-leverage role inflates his price, and with free agency waiting for him ahead of the 2030 season, his team control makes him incredibly valuable, even with the inherent volatility of his position.
MORE: Guardians' Shane Bieber drawing interest ahead of trade deadline
Clase being taken off the market only increases Smith's price. Nearly half the league will be buying, and just about all of them need reinforcement in the bullpen. Clase has led MLB in saves in each of the past three seasons, made three All-Star games, and pitched to a 1.88 ERA.
Now, Cleveland must contemplate life without Clase. It's important to note that he has not been suspended and is not necessarily guilty of anything related to the investigation. But there's a non-zero chance he serves a suspension (if not worse), leaving the Guardians with no star closer and no massive prospect return. Of course, his absence makes Cleveland worse, green-lighting the fire sale of other pieces as the playoff hopes fade into 2026.
Perhaps that's another reason to keep Smith around. His value may never be higher, but four years of control means there will be other opportunities to trade him. If the Guardians aren't tearing it all down, keeping one of the game's best arms in the stable is justifiable.
Ultimately, Clase's leave limits the supply of late-inning relievers on the trade block. That makes Smith more valuable, but much like Athletics phenom Mason Miller, it's difficult to see a team ponying up the prospect capital necessary for such a high-profile trade. As he steps into the closer role indefinitely, Smith seems more likely to stay in Cleveland than depart, despite the prospect haul he's bound to garner.
MORE GUARDIANS NEWS
English (US)