Emmanuel Clase is placed on leave amid a gambling scandal. The trade deadline is off to a slow start. Bryce Harper and Rob Manfred face off.
Good morning.
Monday morning, I awoke to an alert on my phone that Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave amid a gambling scandal.
I then opened my email inbox where I found a press release telling me the odds on what Clase’s next team will be.
- Bob Nightengale has more on how Clase fell under MLB suspicion.
- Zack Meisel goes into greater detail of the timeline of the investigation and the potential impact of the investigation. (The Athletic sub. req.)
- Jordan Schusterman and Jake Mintz also give background on the Clase investigation for those of you without an Athletic subscription.
- Michael Baumann writes about what kind of a pitcher Clase has been and offers his thoughts on gambling in baseball.
- Ken Rosenthal goes into how Clase’s paid leave affects the Guardians trade deadline plans. (The Athletic sub. req.) And other trade deadline news.
- Before we get to the trade deadline, Jeff Passan reports that Bryce Harper literally got into commissioner Rob Manfred’s face when the commissioner tried to sell the players on a salary cap in baseball. The two men stood nose-to-nose swearing at each other and had to be broken up by Nick Castellanos.
- There have been a couple of trades. The Orioles traded reliever Seranthony Dominguez to the Blue Jays for right-handed prospect Juaron Watts-Brown. The trade happened between games of a doubleheader between the two teams and Dominguez pitched for the Blue Jays against his old team in game two.
- In game one of that doubleheader, the Orioles tied a record by hitting five sacrifice flies in a 16-4 win.
- The Brewers acquired catcher Danny Jansen from the Rays for infield prospect Jadher Areinamo.
- The Tigers got right-handers Chris Paddack and Randy Dobnak from the Twins for catching prospect Enrique Jimenez.
- Davy Andrews evaluates what the Tigers got in this deal.
- Cody Stavenhagen explains why the Tigers traded for Paddack. (The Athletic sub. req.)
- On Monday, Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suárez was hit in the hand by a pitch. Scans have revealed no fracture to Suárez’s hand.
- However:
At the very least, Eugenio Suarez’s HBP Monday night has concerned some rival evaluators who have talked about dealing for him. “If you pay a price like that, you’re going to want to feel good about what you’re getting,” said one staffer. And generally, hand/wrist injuries…
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 29, 2025
- Another rumored possible trade target, Royals starter Kris Bubic, is out for the season with a rotator cuff injury.
- Mark Feinsand talks to league general managers about the current temperature of the trade market, which is quiet right now.
- Will Leitch has six teams who should have a sense of urgency to make a deal over the next two days.
- Ken Rosenthal lists four teams unsure if they’re buying or selling. (The Athletic sub. req.)
- Jake Mintz places every team into different tiers on their situation this week.
- Matt Snyder doesn’t understand why fans of a team would want their team to sell.
- Marlins starter Sandy Alcantara said after his start yesterday that he wants to stay in Miami. Christina De Nicola with the story.
- The ESPN dot com baseball writers come up with trades they’d like to see.
- Dan Szymborski also proposes some deals. His one for the Cubs is interesting and I haven’t seen it elsewhere. I’m not sure I’d agree to it, but I’m not sure I wouldn’t. I don’t think the Rangers do it because they’re just one game out of a Wild Card spot.
- Andy McCullough has a fascinating series on how the personalities of the executives affect the trade market. Part one is on the different character types of general managers and part two has four unwritten rules for dealing with your fellow GMs. (The Athletic sub. req.) Part three should be out today.
- Michael Baumann has an essay on the possibilities of shopping in the trade deadline “bargain bin.”
- He wasn’t going to be traded anyway, but Athletics Rookie-of-the-Year candidate Jacob Wilson went on the injured list with a fractured left forearm.
- Eric Longenhagen updates his Top 100 prospect list ahead of the trade deadline.
- For those of you happy that there was still an MLB player older than you are, the Royals have designated Rich Hill for assignment.
- Jordan Mendoza is pulling for Hill to not retire and try to set a new record by playing for his 15th different team.
- This weekend’s “Speedway Classic” at Bristol Motor Speedway has sold over 85,000 tickets, meaning it will be the biggest paid crowd to ever see a baseball game.
- And finally, Bradford Doolittle has a thoughtful piece on the history of the exchange of baseball between the United States and Japan and how Ichiro Suzuki embodies the spirit of that relationship.