Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase — a rumored MLB trade deadline target — has been placed on paid leave in connection with a sports-gambling investigation, ESPN's Jeff Passan reported Monday. Clase is reportedly on leave through Aug. 31, per The Athletic's Zack Meisel.

The Kansas City Royals and veteran right-handed starting pitcher Seth Lugo have agreed to a two-year contract extension with a vesting option, the team announced Monday. The deal is expected to pay about $46 million total for 2026 and 2027,

Those talks apparently continued as Lugo and the Royals on Sunday agreed to a contract extension that takes his name out of MLB trade rumor mill. That deal made Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino quite happy. He had publicly expressed his desire to see Lugo remain with the team, and he took to X to celebrate.

As the Arizona Diamondbacks weigh all their options and other team's offers for their impending free agents, the market continues to swirl around them. Their m