Emmanuel Clase Being Compared To This Hall Of Fame Closer, Cleveland Guardians News

Cleveland Guardians' Emmanuel Clase has very similar numbers to Mariano Rivera through their first four MLB seasons.

May 14, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase (48) throws during the ninth inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Emmanuel Clase continues to put together a historic season as the Cleveland Guardians’ closer. He’s inching closer to being the all-time saves leader in franchise history and has arguably been the best overall pitcher in baseball this year.

Those outside of Cleveland may just be being introduced to Clase’s absolute dominance, but this is something he’s been doing for his entire career. In fact, Clase’s career numbers through his first four seasons are eerily similar to those of Mariano Rivera, one of the best closers in MLB history.

Jun 1, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Emmanuel Clase (48) throws a pitch during the ninth inning against the Washington Nationals at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Rivera threw 277.2 innings from 1997-2000. During that time, he accumulated 160 saves, had a 2.14 ERA, and had a K/9 of 6.9. Clase, on the other hand, has 146 saves, a 1.70 ERA, and an 8.8 through his first three and a half big league seasons.

This season in particular has helped put Clase’s overall numbers as he currently he has the most saves in the American League with 36 and his 0.65 ERA. 

Emmanuel Clase is trending towards greatness after his first four full seasons 🤯 pic.twitter.com/AEvL35nmMu

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) August 13, 2024

This isn’t to say that Clase is on the same level as Rivera yet. Cleveland’s closer still has a long way to go to match Rivera’s career numbers, and one thing that made New York’s closer incredible was his postseason stats.

Cleveland aquired Clase from the Texas Rangers ahead of the 2020 season. It was bittersweet for Cleveland fans when they traded Corey Kluber to the Texas. However, Clase is certainly on the path to having a Hall of Fame career which makes that trade much easier to swallow.