Emmanuel Clase's Contract Extension Proving To Be A Success For Guardians

Emmanuel Clase turned into arguably the best reliever in baseball after signing a contract extension with Cleveland.

The Cleveland front office was unexpectedly busy before the 2022 regular season. They signed Myles Straw to an extension and the big one was obviously the mega-extension that fan-favorite Jose Ramirez received. 

Another one of the extensions that the Guardians gave out was to Emmanuel Clase.

Before Clase was given his new deal, he was coming off a season in which he had a 1.29 ERA, 24 saves, and a 0.962 WHIP, all over 69.2 innings pitched. He also finished fifth in the Rookie of the Year race.

Not bad for a pitcher in his second year in the league. It's no surprise that the Guardians wanted to make him their long-term option in the back of the bullpen. With that in mind, Clase signed a five-year $20 million contract extension with a team option for two more years.

Sep 30, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Emmanuel Clase (48) throws a pitch during the ninth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

This may have seemed like a lot at the moment, but time has proven that Clase was probably underpaid with this contract. 

In 2022, he had a 1.36 ERA, a 0.729 WHIP, led the league in saves with 42, led the league in appearances with 77, and led the league with 67 games finished. This led Clase to his first All-Star game where he recorded the save after striking out the side in the ninth.

The Guardians are lucky they were able to sign him for so cheap because another reliever with similar stats received a huge payday soon after the 2022 World Series. 

The Mets gave Edwin Diaz a five-year deal worth $102 million.

Diaz did have a better ERA than Clase in 2022, but Clase had more saves and appeared in 16 more games. In the world of a reliever, that's almost a full month of work. 

I'm not suggesting that Diaz is better than Clase or vice versa. However, their salaries are nothing close to one another. It's close enough to say that Clase's deal is much better than Diaz's and a success for the Guardians. 

I'm just glad we a closer like Clase on our side and not the other. 

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