If the Guardians don't end up trading Clase, it could simply be because they want to contend in 2024. Or, it could be because his value isn't quite at its zenith.
Clase went into last winter as arguably the best closer in baseball, with his two previous seasons having yielded a 1.33 ERA and 66 saves. But 2023 was more of a challenge. Though he led MLB in saves for the second year in a row, his ERA rose to 3.22 and he became only the second pitcher this century to blow 12 saves in a season.
There are other warning signs in Clase's under-the-hood metrics, including his strikeout rate and the average velocity on his cutter. As Davy Andrews of FanGraphs covered, there was also something up (or, more accurately, down) with Clase's release point last year.
Still, it's not as if Clase altogether stopped throwing triple-digit cutters in 2023. And if his issues can simply be traced back to a lower arm slot, the solution may be as simple as adjusting his mechanics so it goes back up.
Rob Friedman @PitchingNinjaEmmanuel Clase's Flaming Cutters. 🔥✂️ <a href="">
Clase's appeal is only heightened by his contract. He's heading into the third season of a five-year, $20 million deal that comes with club options for 2027 and 2028 that max out at $13 million apiece.
Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors posited in December that the Guardians could leverage Clase into "multiple top-100 prospects and/or young MLB-ready players" in a trade. That sounds about right, and I personally wonder if the Guardians could specifically target power for an offense that ranked 29th and 30th in home runs in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
There are maybe only five truly practical fits for Clase out there. But for "you never know" purposes, I've stretched his list of hypothetical suitors to 10.
