Cleveland Guardians Closer Turning Season Around After Rough Start

Remember when the sky was falling because Emmanuel Clase didn't quite look like himself at the beginning of the season?

Remember in the middle of April when there was a narrative about whether the Cleveland Guardians should move on to a new closer?

All of that noise has died down, and for a good reason. Clase is back to the lockdown closer he was last season, and his stats from May prove it.

May 13, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Emmanuel Clase (48) celebrates the final out in a win over the Milwaukee Brewers at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images

After allowing nine earned runs in 12 appearances in April, Clase bounced back and recorded an ERA of 0.84 and a 0.66 WHIP in May.

Not only was Clase not allowing runs to score, but he was also not allowing batters to get on base. Cleveland's closer register, a 0.66 WHIP, had a walk rate of 4.9 percent and struck out 24.4 percent of the batters he faced.

It's great to see Clase back to being the dominant reliever he was over the last three seasons, but this turnaround shouldn't have come as a surprise, either.

Even when Clase was giving up runs, his velocity remained strong, and it didn't appear he was struggling with any mechanical issues either.

Stephen Vogt noted that Clase needed to mix up some of his pitch-mix and sequencing to get back on track.

Emmanuel Clase's 2Ks in the 9th. pic.twitter.com/umYDdQFts0
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 1, 2025

There was also the shoulder discomfort, which forced him to miss a few days at the end of April, even though it never required a trip to the injured list.

Whatever the change was, it's clearly worked, and since Clase got so much attention when he was allowing runs, it's only right that he gets that same engagement when he isn't allowing them, too.

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