Indians reliever Emmanuel Clase suspended 80 games for taking a performance-enhancing drug

Emmanuel Clase (Google Images)

Cleveland Indians relief pitcher Emmanuel Clase of Rio San Juan, Dominican Republic was suspended 80 games on Friday for taking a performance-enhancing drug according to the Associated Press. Clase was acquired by the Indians from the Texas Rangers in a blockbuster trade on December 15. In the deal, the Rangers acquired starting pitcher Corey Kluber and the Indians also received centerfielder Delino DeShields.

Clase was supposed to give the Indians some significant depth in their bullpen and accommodate closer Brad Hand. In his rookie season with the Rangers in 2019, Clase pitched in 21 games and had an excellent earned run average of 2.31 and a very respectable WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) of 1.11. In 23 1/3 innings pitched, Clase had a record of two wins and three losses, and gave up 20 hits, six earned runs, six walks, two home runs, and had 21 strikeouts.

There was a possibility that Clase was not going to start the 2020 Major League Baseball regular season with the Indians. As reported by thesportingbase.com on February 29, Clase was dealing with a strained back muscle which was giving him upper arm discomfort. He did not pitch for the Indians in any preseason games.

At the time of the coronavirus shutdown, Clase returned home to his native country of the Dominican Republic. It will be interesting to see if he returns to the United States at anytime this year because even if there is a MLB season in 2020, it could be around only 80 games.

There is no word yet on when the 2020 Major League Baseball regular season will commence as of yet. The season was supposed to start at the end of March.