Baseball

Winter League: Guardians prevent Emmanuel Clase from playing in Venezuela
Sébastien Berrouard
Winter League: Guardians prevent Emmanuel Clase from playing in Venezuela
Credit: FOX News

Cleveland Guardians reliever Emmanuel Clase has been placed on non-disciplinary leave while MLB investigates alleged sports betting activities, including some on his own performances.

Whatever the results of the investigation, these allegations will follow Clase for the rest of his career, if career there is, and will continue to bring spotlight negatively on him and his team, whoever they may be. One need only think of George Springer and his 2017 Houston Astros nearly a decade later.

Still, with forehead all around his head, Clase reportedly asked his team for the opportunity to go play in the Venezuelan Winter League. And according to Evan Drellich of The Athletic, the Guardians will not allow Clase to play elsewhere, with good reason.

Although it wasn't explicitly stated, it seems MLB had no problem with Clase's participation, and the Guardians stepped in and blocked it. Well done.

This comes after Clase was also banned from playing in the Winter League of his native Dominican Republic. In this case, however, it was a decision on which neither MLB nor the Guardians had any say. In fact, Clase has taken legal action against the LIDOM for their decision.

One thing is clear: we're not going in the right direction when it comes to sports betting and professional leagues. The latter continue to partner with the major sports betting platforms as a major source of revenue, and the scandals are piling up.

Will sports betting prove to be the scandal of this generation of Major League Baseball players, as steroids have been in the past? Let's hope not, even if it is becoming a scourge in sport in general. The NBA is also shaken by sports betting this morning.

This content was created with the help of AI.

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