This Could Be Behind Emmanuel Clase's Slow Start As The Guardians Closer

Cleveland Guardians closer, Emmanuel Clase, may be silently struggling with the pitch clock.

Cleveland Guardians fans are used to watching Emmanuel Clase be a dominant presence when he's on the mound. He won the American League Reliever of the Year award in 2022 and is arguably the best closer in baseball.

However, Clase's start to the season hasn't suggested he has this impressive resume. 

So far, the right-handed flamethrower has posed a 3.86 ERA over seven games. He's also given up five hits including a rare home run against the Athletics. These numbers aren't exactly "Clase-like," but there may be a reason.

After the Guardians lost to the New York Yankees and Clase gave up an RBI double to Oswaldo Cabrera (the run was unearned due to an error), Terry Francona said this about Clase's start to the season,

"I think his velocity is not showing 100, but sometimes there's more cut to it. I think he's still getting accustomed to the pace of what we're doing. He may not say that, but he's a guy who generally walks around, so it's been a little bit of an adjustment for him."

Watch the rest of Francona's presser here:

Tito is alluding to the new pitch clock that MLB implemented this season to speed up game times. It's made it more entertaining to watch games, but the players are still adapting to it. 

I don't think this is too big of a concern that Clase hasn't fully gotten used to the timer. Despite allowing several early runs, he hasn't been horrendous on the mound by any stretch of the imagination. 

Clase still recorded three saves this season and will continue to be one of the best closers in MLB when he's playing at his best. 

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