Cleveland listening to offers for All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase

It seems crazy to want to trade away an All-Star MLB player, particularly a closing pitcher, but it is being reported that the Cleveland Guardians are, at the very least, entertaining offers for Emmanuel Clase.

The Dominican flame thrower is having an incredible season, throwing a 2.96 ERA with 28 saves on 48.2 innings pitched for a gleaming 1.09 WHIP. And those numbers are low for the 25-year-old, who has a career ERA of only 1.81 in five seasons.

It seems particularly odd, considering that the Guardians are only a half a game out of first in the AL Central and they have just dealt Aaron Civale to the Rays. They are not in any sense of the word sellers, and are a team firmly in the hunt for the post season. The only way that it makes sense is if they are trying to jiggle finances around before making a huge buy.

If they do let Clase go, it could be very interesting to see where he lands. While the early indications are that the Diamondbacks and Marlins have interest in him, a more appetizing trade could see Clase head back home to Texas.

The Dominican right hander was originally signed to a minor league contract by the Padres before making his way to Arlington. The Rangers promoted him to the Show and then traded him away to Cleveland at the deadline in 2019. With Texas a firm contender for the World Series, they are pulling out all the stops to get there, with a laser-like focus on pitching.

With Max Scherzer joining Nathan Eovaldi and Jordan Montgomery already in the rotation, a closer like Clase could be the final element to make the Rangers bullpen one of the best in the game.