Just last year, this $20 million star was carving through the lineups, raising standards, and closing games with ruthless proficiency. However, this year that efficiency has been swapped with confusion. The Cleveland Guardians are facing early-season struggles. The thing is, his velocity is still here. The movement hasn’t disappeared. Yet, this season, he finds himself surrounded with questions. And who’s that you ask?

Last year, Cleveland Guardians’ $20 million star Emmanuel Clase etched his name in the Guardians’ books of history as he recorded a 0.61 ERA, allowing just 5 earned runs across the regular season. Clase is the closer who was borderline perfect last year. Interestingly, he had set the franchise record for most saves in a season and all time. Right after yielding two more earned runs against the Kansas City Royals this season, he now stands at six for the young 2025 season. The ERA isn’t any less concerning; it’s 7.71 presently.

The silver lining is that Clase has the mindset that he can’t please everyone and be flawless every time he takes the mound. He shared, “A couple of days ago I was thinking, ‘Hey, I am a human.” He added, “I can make mistakes.” This unapologetic approach is one way to go about it.

Although his velocity is quite near his career norms. But let’s hear it from Guardians’ analyst Justin Lada. According to him, the final verdict would be “it’s a command issue.” While that helps, let’s delve a bit deeper.

He stated, “Clase is a really good example right now of command vs. control. Control is that he’s not really walking, guys. The command is that he’s missing in the big part of the plate and not hitting the spots he normally does.” He offered a blunt take but it undeniably explains a lot. You see, his strikes are way too hittable. Want to know the way out for him? It’ll all start with a location. A clean outing could be a game-changer.

The bottom line, however, is how soon he bounces back to his rhythm.

Clase to Bounce Back After shaky Start to 2025

Most of the previous season, the Cleveland Guardians never had a reason to worry about the ninth inning. They held a $20 million arm that had what it takes to close the game before they could begin. Although he’s 2-0 with a save, Clase has surrendered 6 runs and 14 hits in a total of 7 appearances.

In Saturday night’s matchup against the Kansas City Royals, he didn’t do much to put an end to the whispers around him about his slow start. Cleveland Guardians’ manager Stephen Vogt addressed it, saying, “He’s just leaving pitches over the middle right now.” Vogt believes, “It’s too early to tell. Emmanuel just needs to get his confidence back.” And when he does, there are high chances he’d get his unhittable power back.

During October 2024, the dynamics shifted evidently and not in a good way. Let’s just say, before October, Clase was literally unhittable for almost six months. While we hear it from the man himself, “I feel like I’ve been able to compete, obviously not getting the results that we wanted, but it is a blend of maybe not being too used to pitching in the cold like previous years.” So, it’s clear that his struggles have nothing to do with diminished ability. He can still compete; he just awaits results.

If Clase can find a way to get a hold of his command, he can regain his dominance back on the field.