Guardians face painful wait as MLB holds off on Emmanuel Clase, Luis Ortiz gambling penalties

“When does MLB make their decision? That’s the thing, I wonder, when does a Rob Manfred, make a decision on these two guys? What kind of penalties are imposed?They could both be banned for life. But would MLB do that before the court date even takes place?” Hoynes questioned.

The timing creates a complicated situation for the Commissioner’s office. Imposing penalties before the court case is resolved could be seen as unfairly influencing the legal proceedings. However, the delay leaves the Guardians organization in limbo, unable to fully plan for the 2026 season.

Last season, both Clase and Ortiz received their salaries while on non-disciplinary leave, a decision reached jointly by MLB and the players’ association lawyers. However, with formal indictments now filed, the situation has changed significantly.

The financial question becomes more pressing as the regular season approaches. Players don’t receive their salaries during spring training, but once opening day arrives, decisions will need to be made about Clase’s contract. Options could include holding the salary in escrow until a final determination is made, but this remains uncharted territory.

Hoynes speculated: “I would think in some form or fashion, Cleveland is going to have to honor the contract.”

For now, the Guardians must prepare for the 2026 season with the understanding that two key players won’t be part of the equation, at least in the near term. The uncertainty surrounding their status — and the significant financial implications — could continue to be a distraction as the team heads into what they hope will be a competitive season.

As the May 4th court date approaches, the organization can only wait for clarity on both the legal proceedings and MLB’s eventual decision on disciplinary action.

Read the automated transcript of today’s podcast below. Because it’s an AI-generated transcript, it may contain errors and misspellings.

Podcast Transcript

Joe Noga: Welcome back to the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast. I’m Joe Noga, joined by Paul Hoynes. Hoynsie, the Guardians getting set to report to spring training here in the next couple of days. Two players who will not be reporting to spring training. We found out from Major League Baseball that Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz will not be allowed to report to spring training in Goodyear, Arizona for the Guardians. What’s the latest you heard from the league in regarding Class A and Ortiz and their status?

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, Joe, the ML be informed the Guardian’s front office over the weekend that Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz will not be allowed to report to spring training. But they also told them there was no, really no indication that this thing is coming to a head that MLB is ready to make a final decision on penalties regarding these two and their indictment for gambling, their participation in a gambling scheme, you know, that started in 2023. So I guess it’s no big surprise that they’re not in camp Joe. But it’s, it’s the first time MLB has officially told the Guardians, at least given the Guardians a hint of what’s going on. I know they’ve been kept largely in the dark on this and we still don’t know, you know, a couple different things. The big thing right now is will they have to pay Emanuel Class A, you know, the $6.4 million that is still guaranteed on his contract for the 2026 season?

Joe Noga: Ortiz not under contract, he’s under team control but the guardians don’t have to pay him anything. It’s the 6.4 million that is really the concern for the club. Both Ortiz and Class A were paid through last season while they were on the non disciplinary leave is my understanding. So you know, right now really it’s just a question of that, that money that’s out there and whether or not the Guardians are going to be essentially forced to pay Class A once the season begins. Because right now during spring training no players are paid during that time. Correct?

Paul Hoynes: Correct. Yeah, there’s still, you know, Class A and Ortiz are still on the restricted list, which means they don’t count toward the 40 man roster. They’re not getting paid. And yeah, you’re right, the whole, you know, no players really get paid their salaries until opening day. You know, they’re, they’re on an allowance. I think they’re get a weekly allowance, you know, during spring training. But other than that, that’s, that’s the extent of it. And you know, the, the big thing is how do they, you know, both These guys are scheduled to go to court in New York on May 4th. And when does MLB make their decision? That’s the thing that, you know, I wonder, when does a Rob Manfred, you know, kind of make a decision on, on these two guys? What kind of penalties are imposed? You know, potentially they, they could both be banned for life. But do you do that before the court date even takes place? Isn’t that unfairly influencing, you know, a court, a decision they make? The two players may face, you know, during a trial. So, you know, it’s still kind of a touch and go subject, really. You don’t know which way this thing is going to go, right?

Joe Noga: Yeah, I think that’s really the only thing that’s preventing Rob Manfred from going forward and imposing whatever penalties he has in mind or are, you know, sort of commanded by precedent to do so in this case is he’s waiting for the legal side of things to be resolved. Because just like you said, you don’t want to unduly influence the court case, but at the same time, you sort of need the wheels of justice to get in motion here and things to move along. Last week’s court filing by Luis Ortiz to attempt to sever his case from Emmanuel Clase, maybe that’s an indication that things are progressing. But in the world of US Court justice, it moves at a glacier’s pace. It moves at the pace of the legal system, not necessarily the, the pitch clock baseball system here that would benefit the guardians in some way to get a resolution in this. Because, yeah, right now there are so many questions out there as to what the guardians can do and what they can’t do, what we know for sure is they really can’t go out and spend that money. And if they’re made to sort of start pay, if the clock starts and the season arrives and, you know, that money’s got to go somewhere for class A, you know, it certainly shouldn’t be going to him. Do they hold it in escrow? Is it, is, is that a situation? Do they just simply not pay until the court case is resolved? I don’t, I don’t know what the precedent is for this, but I’m sure that the, the players association would somehow get involved with that at some point.

Paul Hoynes: Oh, definitely, I think, you know, and I don’t know if there’s a precedent either, Joe. I’m sure this, something like this has happened before. Maybe they put, like you say, you know, they set the salary aside until, you know, the commissioner makes his decision. The legal, you know, there’s a decision made legally and then you know, they sort things out from there. But I would think in some fat form or fashion, you know, Cleveland is going to have to honor the contract and you know, the, the amount of money they owe Class A, you know, the, the, they had really basically nothing to do with the decision last year to pay Ortiz and Class A their salaries even when they were put on, you know, non disciplinary leave in July. That was a decision reached by the lawyers at MLB and MLBPA. That’s the decision they made because at that point the investigation was still ongoing. But now, you know, when the indictments have been filed, you know this is, this is a, a court case now. So you really don’t know which way is up with the Guardians. And when you talk to the guardians front office, they don’t know either. I mean I’m sure they have a better idea than we do, you know, as they’ve been, you know, given a heads up to some degree. But right now it’s still a question mark.

Joe Noga: Yeah. And so you know, we’ll wait as the, as we get closer to the regular season, you know, we can always ask again what’s being done with the, the salary at that point and then once we get closer to the court date in May, hopefully we some some more clarity in that regard by then. But again the latest here the news is that Class A and Ortiz, you know, the guardians told they will not be allowed to participate in spring training. We sort of pretty much assumed that knew that was going to be the case. So that’s the, the latest development there. Latest development in terms of the guardian search for more power to, to inject some sort of right handed hitting into their lineup. A familiar storyline from maybe earlier in the offseason could be that you know, the, the Phillies might be looking to unload a veteran right hander and you know, who might be a good fit for the Guardians. It’s just a question of a $20 million salary hanging out there with Nick Castellanos. What are your thoughts on the possibility that the Guardians could try to acquire a veteran hitter like Castellanos and what it might cost them?

Paul Hoynes: Well, I’m sure the Philly is really kind of desperate to move this guy. They basically said they wanted to trade him. You know, he is in I think the final year of his contract. They owe him $20 million like you said. I think their first full squad workout is Monday in Florida. So it just seems like it would be a bad idea to have Castellano in camp when he knows he’s going to get dealt. And you know, the, him and Rob Thompson the manager have kind of butted heads over the last, the last year or so. So they definitely want to move him. I think, you know, it makes sense for Cleveland to, to, you know, get a right handed hitter. You know, Castellanos would play this season at 34. He’s not the same guy he has been. He hit 17 home runs, 72 RBIs last season with the Phillies. But you know, and Cleveland fans have seen him a lot when, when he played for Detroit. But this is a guy that, you know, the price is the key to me, Joe. I mean, how much will Philly, the Phillies absorb of that $20 million contract? And I think they’re in a, they’re in a state where they would take a big chunk.

Joe Noga: Yeah. And you know, the late, the later you get into things, the more that they’re likely to absorb of that contract. You know, earlier in the offseason, Philly obviously signed Adolis Garcia, you know, a guy who was considered a good fit in Cleveland as well. He just didn’t want to, you know, maybe take a back seat and take fewer at bats, less playing time. I don’t think the money was a big factor in Garcia not coming to Cleveland. I think it was more of playing time. And you know, he signed for a, signed a $10 million deal basically to replace Castellanos as the right fielder in Philadelphia. So you think about that $10 million there. If Philly would be willing to maybe absorb 10 million of the 20 that’s owed to Castellanos. What’s that going to cost in, in terms of a prospect? Would you expect, you know, a guy in an organization’s top 30 or a more higher quality, a more further along prospect in return? If you’re going to, you know, soak up $10 million of a $20 million deal, I would think that’s more likely the case. And that might not be something that the Guardians are necessarily attracted to.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, exactly. The Guardians have passed up on so many right handed hitters this winter, you know, that I think, you know, the point has been made that they’re going to give the young players their prospects, the guys they’ve traded for and developed and drafted, the chance to, you know, succeed at the big league level. They’re not bringing in guys that could block their path. And Castellano seems to fit that mold. But who knows? I mean, I’m not sure. Have they been waiting for Castellanos all year, all winter? Joe? I kind of Doubt that or they would have made this deal a long time ago, you know, so, yeah, I think they’re, at this point, they are not willing to give up a high ranking of prospect. Just so you know, the Phillies would take, you know, pay Castellanos 15 of the $20 million they own.

Joe Noga: Yeah, it’s sort of like, you know, just waiting around for, you know, the, the DVDs to go into the bargain bin at, at Walmart and then you can get them for $5, I guess. You know, the longer you wait, maybe the price comes down a little bit more on Castellanos. I don’t know if they’re ever going to get to the point where the Guardians feel comfortable surrendering whatever prospect that Philly would want. But to me, Castellanos could possibly be a real nice piece. You know, he wouldn’t have to play every day. He wouldn’t require as many at bats as, you know, a younger guy who would also fit that role. He’s 34 years old. Maybe you get a better quality Castellanos if he’s not playing every day. You know, it would just be an adjustment for him to that role. But if he were traded, it would, you know, it’s not like he’s a free agent turning down lesser playing time. He would have to, he would have to come right. He wouldn’t have a choice.

Paul Hoynes: Doubt about it. And you know, he was platooning in right field with Max Kepler, you know, this past season.

Joe Noga: So, you know, that had to be rough. Not a lot of production there.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah. And you know, both guys were not real happy either in Philly’s, you know, I think, you know, so, you know, he, I think at 34, you’re probably, you know, you’re probably, you know, grudgingly admit that you may need, you know, a day off here or there or you’re going to platoon with somebody. You know, the Guardians, I mean, they live by the platoon. They love it. You know, if you, if, if he’s coming here, he’ll, he’s going to platoon.

Joe Noga: Yeah. And you know, there’s, like you said, He’s 34 years old. It’s not like this would be his first or his, you know, peak years. I think maybe playing a little bit less, you could get better results out of him, certainly in the season. Only 17 home runs last year. That’s, that’s well off his career average and what he’s capable of doing maybe with, you know, fewer at bats, you’re not going to get 30 home runs out of him, but maybe you don’t need that. Maybe you just need league average from him for the season. All right, Hoynsie, we want to, before we jump into spring training, you know, we’ve been talking about the, the spring and training invitees and the, you know, who we think the bullpen is going to look, what the, what we think the bullpen is going to look like. We talked about the rotation the other day. Let’s get try our best and figure out who we think and debate and talk a little bit about what the 26 man roster for opening day is before anybody steps on the field, before anybody takes a rep or goes for a live VP or plays in a Cactus League game. This is pretty much just our best guess at 26 spots on the roster and who will make those, you know, coming out of training camp. I think an easy place to start is behind the plate. I think, you know, it’s been made pretty clear that as long as these guys are all healthy that there are three catchers on the roster in Bo Naylor, Austin Hedges and David Fry. Just a situation where Stephen Vogt’s going to be happy again to, to carry three catchers this season.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, we’ve seen that work really very, very well. At the start of the 2024 season when Frye was healthy, it really gave Stephen Vogt a lot of fl. You could rotate all three catchers into a game. Bo Naylor, you know, would be the starter, but you know, you could. Frei gives you flexibility. Hedges can finish the ball game. I mean it really was a perfect kind of situation until Frei got hurt and really couldn’t throw because of the damaged right elbow and all. Reports are that he’s, you know, he’s healthy and he’ll be catching a lot this spring. So we’ll have to see if they can put that trio of catchers back together again and use that versatility to the best of their advantage.

Joe Noga: First base, I think pretty obvious that Chris Antonetti has said throughout the off season and I think everybody has said that they want Kyle Manzardo to play the majority of the time. Over there you’ve got CJ Kayfus on your 40 man roster. We’ll get to him as a where he fits in on this whole picture event. Fry can play first base as well, but I think when you’re listing by position on this roster, first base, you’re pretty well spoken for at least early on they’re going to give him that opportunity.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, I think so, Joe. I mean, it makes sense. You know, this guy hit 27 home runs, drove in 70 runs last season. He got stronger over the off season per the request by the club. And Stephen Vogt, he gained some weight, he gained some muscle and I think, you know, that was his first full year in the big leagues last season. He certainly, you know, so you know, he’s kind of an exciting hitter and they don’t have much power outside of Jose Ramirez. So, you know, you want to see Manzardo continue to develop. And I think CJ Kayfus is a guy to keep our eye on as well. Joe. I think he’s a natural first baseman. He’s kind of made the movement to, to right field to play the outfield more. But Kayfus is a good first baseman too and, and again, Fry gives you that versatility.

Joe Noga: Yeah, Fry gives you that versatility. But I can definitely see CJ Kayfus coming off the bench if he’s not starting in a game or moving to, moving from the outfield to first base late in the game. Defensively, if you know that’s the way that the vote wants to go in the seventh, eighth, ninth inning, wants to make sure that the, you know, the defense is set and solid, the matchups and the substitutions that vote makes strategically work historically over the past two seasons, having the option to put your better defensive first baseman there late in the game, I think we’re going to see a lot of CJ Kayfus doing that at points this season. Second base. Second base is a position that eventually could be in flux, but I think starting out of the gate, I think at the end of spring training, I think going into opening day, you know, candidates, you’ve got a few of them, but Brian Rocchio seems like he’s the guy who’s going to be in that spot.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, I think so. You know, I thought he proved he could play second base when he came back up in mid season last year after getting sent down, you know, because he was a swinging a bat. Well, you know, defensively, you know, he can play there. He’s got a shortstops arm, you know, so you don’t lose anything there. He’s, you know, he’s still learning the angles at second base, but you know, he’s got great range, turns a double play. Didn’t see any problem with him turning, turning to there, you know, just kind of a valuable guy switch hitter, you know, they need to get a little more offense out of him, you know, is he the hitter they saw in the second half for a full season? That would be, you know, that would greatly Help this ball club and, and you’ve got some, you know, different guys that can fill in there. You know, Daniel Schneemann can, can play second, you know, and we’ve got, like you said, Joe, they, they’ve got a couple guys in the Pipeline in Travis Bazzana and Juan Brito.

Joe Noga: Yeah. And if Brian Rocchio swings the bat the way he did in the second half last year, second base might not be where he eventually stays. I mean, you could see him move over to shortstop. Depending on how Gabriel Arias plays early and especially early in the season, if they want to make that second base position, something where they get a chance to showcase Travis Bazzana or Juan Brito and bring them up and give them opportunities. I guess it all, it all sort of hinges on does Gabriel Arias come through and finally give us the kind of hitter that he is in spring training or at aaa? We’ve seen flashes of it in the major leagues, but he hasn’t been consistent. Can Gabriel Arias come up and be the shortstop that the Guardians have projected him to be? Defensively, he’s there. The arm talent is, it speaks for itself, but it’s. Can he put together consistent quality at bats as the shortstop? Because if he doesn’t, then you know, we don’t have to worry about Rocchio at second base. They’re going to move him over there.

Paul Hoynes: A good point. And you, you know, he played, played a lot of winter ball in Venezuela this, you know, to get ready for this season. Hopefully, you know, he found the strike zone because he struck out way too much. Joe, last season over 160 times. If you’re gonna, if you’re gonna do that, you, you, you’ve got to hit some, hit for some. A lot more power than he showed. Granted he’s, you know, solid defensively, good range like you said, great arm. But you know, they’re waiting to see something from this guy offensively. They want two way player there. And you know, I think Arius has teased us, has teased the organization with his ability to drive the ball, especially to the opposite field, but you’d like to see it a little more with more consistency.

Joe Noga: So let’s go with. Since we already talked about CJ Kayfus and his versatility, I think he’s going to be a bench utility type player. Let’s go with four outfielders since normally we go with five. But Kayfus, you know, he gives you that, that sort of two way look. Obviously Stephen Kwan, but then there’s a lot of young guys and a lot of guys with question marks. What. How do you see the outfield shaking out? Give me, besides Stephen Kwan, give me three names of guys that, that you think will be on the opening day roster. Playing outfield.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, it’s, it’s, it’s a, it’s a mix. It’s a mixed bag, Joe. You’ve got Chase the Lauder, you’ve got George Valera, you’ve got Daniel Schneemann is even in the mix for, for an outfield spot. You know, Nolan Jones is back from last year after signing for the Guardians resigned him to a 2 million 11 year deal. So I think, you know, there just seems to be a lot of, lot of options for Stephen Vogt. Stewart Fairchild is in camp on a minor league deal. You know, he’s got a lot of experience in the big leagues. A right handed hit, he’s got to factor into that. But I would think, you know, they would want to play DeLauter in center field perhaps. You know, I think he may have the inside track there, but you know, Vogt said he’ll spend a lot of time in center and right field this spring. And you know, the big thing of course with the Lauder is staying healthy. But, and we’ve, we saw a lot of Nolan Jones last season, you know, disappointing offensively, but you know, he can play all the positions, got a, has a very good arm, so. And George Valera came up and really I really like the way he swung the bat, Joe. You know, he looks like he could be a top of the order hitter maybe, you know, could hit right behind Kwan, you know, seemed to do that a lot going down the stretch and in the playoffs. Defensively, I’ve got to see more of him. I really, you know, haven’t, haven’t really made up my mind on him defensively. The times I did see him, it looked like he needed some work.

Joe Noga: Yeah, that might be the one thing that holds George Valera back, might be the, you know, the looks defensively. Personally, I think besides Kwon, if I’m picking three other guys plus Kiss, who will, you know, play both outfield and infield. I think you go with Nolan Jones because you’re paying him. You go with Chase the Lauder because you’ve talked him up all offseason and right now I’m sticking with Angel Martinez just because I know they like his athleticism. I think he can platoon and give DeLauter a break so that you’re taking care of DeLauter physically and health wise in center field and you know, you’ve got Fairchild, you know, he’s there as his, he signed to a minor league contract. So you know, he’s waiting in Columbus and waiting for an opportunity to come up that could happen during the season. But I think out of the gate, Kwan, Jones, DeLauter and Martinez are your four outfielders and your bench consists of CJ Kayfus and the aforementioned Daniel Schneemann, who we know that they like his approach and the way he puts together professional at bats and he does a variety of things for them as well.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, no doubt about it. They’ve got such a versatile lineup, Joe. A versatile roster that you know, when you think about, you know, when you think about kind of the, I mean it seems like anybody can play anywhere. I mean Arias has played center field, Kayfus can play right field. Schneemann can play all three outfield spots. So they can, they can do some mixing and matching. I think that’s one of the keys to that lineup and it’s, you know, the key to Volt’s philosophy of playing Everybody, all 26 men, you know, are going to get into a game during, during a series. Nobody’s going to sit for two weeks. It keeps people happy.

Joe Noga: Well, the next time we see Gabriel Arias in center field will be too soon. But I don’t, I don’t know about that. All right, really quickly, let’s just run through. Since we last couple of podcasts, we’ve talked about the starting pitching rotation and the, the bullpen. We talked the other day about Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee, Slade Cecconi pretty much penciled into those top three spots in the rotation, the remaining spots, sort of a three way fight for two spots between Logan Allen, Joey Cantillo and Parker Messick. I think we, we, we pretty much came to the conclusion that you know, some form of maybe Joey Cantillo, Logan Allen in those two spots to start out and you know, there’s no shame for Parker Messick and in starting the season out in, in Triple A knowing that, you know, you’re the first guy that they’re going to call if they need a spot start or if something happens, I think that’s probably the best approach to give Joey Cantillo the best opportunity to sort of prove that he belongs in a major league starting rotation.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head there. They’ve got some depth, want to keep whoever, whoever doesn’t win that fifth spot, you’d like to them to stay in, stay stretched out. Cantillo is out of options. I think they prefer to keep him in a rotation. Allen and, and Parker Messick have options so they could go down and continue to pitch and start for, for Columbus. But I think, you know, probably Messick seems to be the guy that, that could start the season at Columbus, get hot and come up when he could, when he was best suited and the rotation needed a bet.

Joe Noga: Eight spots left on the opening day 26 man roster. That LE bullpen, half of the bullpen, you can pretty much. A little bit more than half of the bullpen you can pretty much write down in ink as long as they’re healthy coming into the start of the season. Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis, Sean Armstrong, Eric Sabrowski and Matt Festa, all of them figure to be guys that, that break camp with the club out of the bullpen. The remaining three spots there, you’ve, you’ve got, you’ve got plenty of options and a lot of competition coming up. There are guys with major league contracts who are on the roster in Colin Holderman and Connor Brogdon. Both of those guys could, you know, you know, certainly have make strong cases to be on the roster. Peyton Pallette, the Rule 5 pick from the White Sox, the way that they’ve gone about building this ever since they took him in the Rule 5 draft might seem to indicate that his chances of making the club are growing slimmer depending on. We haven’t seen him pitch and we don’t really know what they think of them. Tim Herron, a guy whose hold on a roster spot was pretty tenuous throughout the season last year, but did step up and pitch in some big games and give them some big innings. It’s a matter of consistency again with Heron. So if those back five spots are spoken for, that leaves us three for the bullpen there. Guys like Heron, Holderman, Brogdon, Paulette and even some of the invitees like Colby Allard and Pedro Avila, guys who, Cody Hewer, who all have non roster invitations. How do you see the last three spots in that bullpen shaking out right now? You know, pitchers and catchers report before we’ve seen anybody even throw baseball. What’s, what’s your pick?

Paul Hoynes: That’s, that’s a tough choice, Joe. I’m glad when, you know, at the end of March, I’m not going to have to be making a decision on this bullpen. You know, they really, you know, they didn’t, this is the area that the front office concentrated on during the, during off season. You know, they didn’t do much with the offense, but they really wanted to fortify the bullpen, especially with the anticipated loss of Emanuel, Class A, the franchise leader and say and they, they did a pretty good job, Joe. I mean they’ve got guys all over the place in this bullpen. I mean you could conceivably, you know, you could open the open the season with the three guys that are non roster invites in Allard, Avila and Heuer. You know, we’ve seen Allard, we’ve seen Avila, what they can do over the last two or three years and they were great and they’re just in camp on minor league deals. We haven’t seen. Brogdon is out of options. You know, like you pointed out, Palette is a Rule 5 guy. We’ve never seen him. You know, he’s got it, he’s got to make the 26 man roster or he gets offered back to the White Sox. And you’ve got, you know, Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis, Sean Armstrong, Sabrowski, Esther Aaron. We know what those guys can do. I mean this is, this is a tough, this is a tough one, Joe. I might back off this one and then just wait, just wait till the dust, dust settles and before making a, making a call on this because I just don’t know. You just haven’t got a true read on. And Holderman and Brogdon, even the, when they signed him, they both kind of came out of left field, but we really haven’t got a read on these guys. It’s a tough call.

Joe Noga: Well, I mean this is part prediction, part guess. It’s a fun little exercise. I think in terms of those last three spots, I’m going to go out on a limb and say Peyton Pet does not make the roster. I give the two of the three spots to Holderman and Brogdon. Maybe Colby Allard makes the, makes the roster. I think as a non roster invitee. Tim Heron, if he steps up and shows him something, maybe, maybe that spot, that, that second lefty spot is the one that’s sort of the, the guess for me and I’ll go with Allard because, because they like the veteran. All right. Yeah, that’s right. Now it’s all guesswork. Nobody’s picked up a baseball or swung a bat yet in spring training and we’ll see. We’ve got many, many the long stretch of spring training ahead of us getting set to go at the beginning of next week. So.

Paul Hoynes: I think we forgot third base, but I got, it’s not, I didn’t.

Joe Noga: I didn’t, I didn’t forget third base. I just thought it was pretty much a foregone conclusion.

Paul Hoynes: Okay, yeah.

Joe Noga: You thought I forgot first base. Come on. No, we didn’t. We didn’t forget third base. Everybody knows who’s gonna be there. Who’s the man, who’s the franchise icon. They’re. They’re designing the statue right now. Jose Ramirez. The interesting thing will be to see how much time Jose gets. There was an indication last year there. There were specific days that he would DH and they’d try to get him off his feet. Day games after night games, long stretches and all that. This is a guy who posts every day, so, you know, trying to preserve him and make sure that he fulfills the final seven years of that contract is going to be important. We’re going to start to see the evolution of what he becomes eventually as a hitter and. And they’ll be using him as a DH a little bit.

Paul Hoynes: Yeah, he DH, I think, 20 times last year, so we’ll have to see if there’s an increase in that or it stays about the same.

Joe Noga: Yeah, we’ll. We’ll look back at this time next year. All right, Hoyns, that’s going to wrap up today’s edition of the Cleveland Baseball Talk podcast. We’ll check it. Check back in with you tomorrow to.

Paul Hoynes: Get the latest deal. Joe.