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Cleveland Guardians Closer Emmanuel Clase Joins Elite Company With 40-Save Season

Emmanuel Clase became the fourth player in MLB history to post back-to-back 40 save seasons before turning 26 years old.
Sam Connon|
Cleveland Guardians Closer Emmanuel Clase Joins Elite Company With 40-Save Season
Cleveland Guardians Closer Emmanuel Clase Joins Elite Company With 40-Save Season

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Cleveland Guardians

Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase hit a major milestone Tuesday night.

Clase retired all three San Francisco Giants batters he faced, needing just 13 pitches to retire the side and secure the 3-1 road win for the Guardians. In doing so, Clase notched his 40th save of the season.

That is nothing new for Clase, who ended 2022 with an AL-best 42 saves, making him the first player in franchise history to put up multiple seasons with 40-plus saves.

Clase is also just the fourth player since 1969 – when the save was introduced as an official stat – to record back-to-back 40-save seasons before his 26th birthday.

Francisco Rodriguez posted three in a row from 2005 to 2007, while Craig Kimbrel did the same from 2011 to 2013. Trevor Rosenthal recorded 45 and 48 saves with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2014 and 2015.

In addition to already ranking No. 5 in Guardians history with 106 saves, Clase ranks No. 8 in all of baseball in career saves through age 25.

All-time saves leader Mariano Rivera did not make his MLB debut until he was 25 years old. The New York Yankees legend did not record his first save until he was 26, or his first 40-save season until he was 27.

Clase made his debut with the Texas Rangers in 2019, when he was only 21 years old. The Rangers then traded Clase to Cleveland at the end of the season, bringing back former Cy Young winner Corey Kluber in return.

After testing positive for Boldenone – a banned PED – Clase was suspended for the entire 2020 season, which was shortened due to COVID-19. He didn't pitch for the Guardians until 2021.

Clase made the most of his second chance, putting up a 1.29 ERA, a 0.962 WHIP and 24 saves en route to a fifth-place finish for AL Rookie of the Year. The following season, Clase broke out with a 1.36 ERA, a 0.729 WHIP and 42 saves.

Clase his currently sitting on career-worsts in both ERA and WHIP at 3.11 and 1.140, respectively. Still, the right-hander from the Dominican Republic made his second consecutive All-Star Game in 2023 while once again leading the league in games finished and saves.

The Guardians and Giants close out their three-game set Wednesday at 3:45 p.m. ET. If Clase can add another save to his total, Cleveland could pull out its first series win since Labor Day.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer covering baseball for “Fastball on SI.’’ He previously covered UCLA Athletics for On SI’s All Bruins site, and is a UCLA graduate, with his work there as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for On SI’s New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Sam lives in Boston.

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