MLB News and Notes: Clase Earns 80-Game Suspension

As the calendar turns from April to May, we sadly still do not have professional sports in our lives, including Major League Baseball. Still, optimism remains high that a season can still take place, and as some states start to loosen restrictions, the hope is that baseball could be back within just a couple of months.
In addition to loosened restrictions in some states (including Texas and Florida where MLB has considered as homes to a bulk of the games this season), congress is even getting into the act. Reportedly, this last week Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell contacted commissioner Rob Manfred trying to push for a return.
Regardless, even though there is not baseball, there continues to be news coming out of the league. Let’s take a look at some of the news from the last week:
Clase Suspended For PED Use
While hindsight is 20-20, the Cleveland Indians may be having some regrets about their Corey Kluber trade to the Rangers right now. The reason is the key player they received back, reliever Emmanuel Clase, just received an 80-game suspension for the banned PED boldenone, according to MLB.
The hard-throwing righty pitched in 21 games (23.1 innings) for the Rangers last year, going 2-3 with a 2.31 ERA and 1.114 WHIP. He also struck out 21 while walking just six.
At just 22, the Indians are hoping that Clase will come back and be a model citizen and dynamite weapon for the Indians after the suspension, but it certainly isn’t the ideal start to Clase’s tenure with the Tribe.
Could Molina Leave St. Louis?
Yadier Molina and the St. Louis Cardinals have been synonymous with one another since the 2005 season, but could that soon be changing? In an interview with ESPN.com’s Marly Rivera, Molina said that he would consider playing for another team if he reaches free agency.
Molina has made it clear before that he wants to finish his career with the St. Louis Cardinals, but it appears a deal has not come together for the 37-year-old backstop. While this may just be posturing by Molina, it certainly puts pressure on the Cardinals as they have to decide if they want to extend their franchise player or face the fan backlash if another fan favorite is gone.
Last season, Molina hit .270/.312/.399 for the Cardinals with 10 home runs, 57 runs batted in, 45 runs scored, and six stolen bases. While he may not be the offensive threat that he once was, his work on defense, his respectable offensive numbers, and his veteran leadership still make him an asset for the Cardinals.
MLB, Umpires Reach Deal
While the focus has been on Major League Baseball and whether they can have a 2020 season, there is another aspect of the game that was addressed this past week. Major League Baseball had been pushing to cut umpire pay given that there most assuredly won’t be a full season.
With that in mind, the umpires were obviously balking at such an idea, and the two sides had to negotiate a deal this week. According to ESPN’s Jesse Rogers, that deal has been finalized.
In the new deal, umpires will see a reduction in pay by approximately 30% (according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today). There are some other caveats to the deal like a reduction in per diems and postseason bonuses, but ultimately it appears they have worked things out, and the umpires will be on board when and if there is a season.
Ramirez Making A Comeback?
Could Manny Ramirez be returning to Major League Baseball? No. However, it does appear that he is interested in returning to playing. Ramirez, 48, is hoping to play in the Chinese Professional Baseball League, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com and his agent, Hector Zepeda Jr.
The last year that Manny played in the majors was back in 2011 at age 39, but his last truly productive season was in 2008 when he hit .332/.430/.601 with 37 home runs, 121 runs batted in and 102 runs scored between the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Obviously, time is catching up with him, and he probably has no shot of ever returning to the MLB, but this is just another example of Manny being Manny.