Oct 18, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase (48) reacts in the ninth inning against the New York Yankees during game four of the ALCS for the 2024 MLB playoffs at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Dermer-Imagn Images (David Dermer / Imagn Images)
The Cleveland Guardians will not grant permission for star reliever Emmanuel Clase, who is under gambling investigation by Major League Baseball, to pitch in the Venezuelan winter league, three people briefed on the decision who were not authorized to speak publicly said Wednesday.
Clase was looking to play there because the winter league in his home country, the Dominican Republic, has barred him from pitching this offseason for the Estrellas Orientales. That decision led Clase to this week to sue both the Dominican league and its president, Vitelio Mejía.
Clase intended to instead go pitch for the Tiburones de La Guaira in Venezuela’s winter league, people briefed on the righthander’s plan confirmed. However, MLB’s agreement with various winter leagues generally forbids a player from joining a team outside of his “native” country, as the agreement describes it, unless he has club and MLB approval.
The Guardians will not grant that permission while Clase remains under league investigation and MLB has informed Tiburones of that decision, sources said. (If a player’s rights are reserved by a winter-league team in his native country, he would also need that team’s permission to go abroad.)
Clase and teammate Luis Ortiz have been on paid leave from the Guardians since July after the Ohio Casino Control Commission received reports of “suspicious wagering activity on Cleveland Guardians wagering events.” Ortiz was also barred from pitching in the Dominican Winter League and is also reportedly suing.
Clase’s team, Estrellas, and the league president, Mejía, have been at odds, a person briefed on the Dominican league’s dynamics said.
MLB, the Guardians, the Players Association and a representative for Clase declined comment.
Oct 22, 2025
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