MLB Betting Probe Halts Emmanuel Clase Trade, Guardians Closer in Limbo

Deadline Day Approaches

As July 31 at 6 p.m. ET looms, playoff hopefuls are accelerating deals to plug roster holes. Tampa Bay moved catcher Danny Jansen to Milwaukee for prospect Jadher Areinamo and flipped a prospect for Miami's Nick Fortes. Meanwhile, New York is targeting starters Mitch Keller (3.69 ERA in 127 IP) and MacKenzie Gore (3.52 ERA) to shore up a rotation beset by season-ending injuries to Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt.

Risk and Reward in Chicago

The Cubs, in search of front-line pitching, are weighing a high-risk bid for former Cy Young winner Shane Bieber—rehabbing from Tommy John but showing "crisp" stuff in the minors. With controllable arms at a premium, contenders are balancing cost, injury risk and roster needs before the trade wire slams shut.

Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase has been placed on non-disciplinary paid leave through Aug. 31 amid an MLB investigation into possible sports betting connections.

• Clase, a two-time Mariano Rivera Award winner leading MLB with 24 saves, had drawn significant trade interest ahead of Thursday's deadline.

• His 5–3 record, 3.23 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 47⅓ innings made him a prime target for contenders like the Phillies.

The probe, triggered after a betting-integrity firm flagged questionable pitches by Clase's teammate Luis Ortiz, has paused all trade dialogue and left teams scrambling for late-inning options.

Before his buyout from Washington on July 19 and subsequent move to the Lakers, multiple Eastern Conference contenders pursued Marcus Smart in trade talks. The Miami Heat even weighed sending Terry Rozier to the Wizards for Smart but could not agree internally on whether he would be a clear upgrade.

• Milwaukee explored packaging Pat Connaughton's $9.4 million expiring deal for Smart.


• Atlanta considered absorbing Smart's $22 million salary using a traded player exception.

When no team met Washington's asking price, the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year cleared waivers and signed with Los Angeles.

Bronny James is rewriting the narrative of his rookie season by channeling past health scares and NBA debut woes into a methodical growth plan. After surviving cardiac arrest two summers ago and enduring a scoreless 15-minute outing in Philadelphia where Tyrese Maxey erupted for 43 points, the Lakers' 20-year-old guard has embraced a "never again" mindset.

In the G League laboratory, under coach Zach Guthrie's defense-first mandate, James posted 22.8 points, 5.6 assists and 5.1 rebounds with 36.7% three-point accuracy over his final seven games. Despite lingering immune system challenges from his heart surgery, he's adopted a rigorous daily routine—105 shots, ice baths and film study—to build the conditioning JJ Redick deems essential for a rotation role.

The Los Angeles Clippers have flipped the league's youth movement on its head, assembling the oldest roster in NBA history. By signing 40-year-old point guard Chris Paul alongside 37-year-old Brook Lopez, 37-year-old James Harden, 36-year-old Nicolas Batum and 32-year-old Bradley Beal, Los Angeles enters next season with a weighted average age of 33.2 years—surpassing the 2000-01 Jazz's 32.0 mark.

Front office architects, led by president Lawrence Frank, say experience outweighs age. Citing Paul and Lopez's combined 162 starts last season, Frank emphasizes depth to counter injury risk. With a nine-man rotation poised to lean on basketball IQ and veteran savvy, the Clippers are betting proven winners can overcome the league's youth surge.