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.

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.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/diamondbacks as Does the Seth Lugo Deal Set Merrill Kelly's Market?. 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.

The New York Yankees are in need of pitching help, but one name just got taken off the trade block. Seth Lugo has agreed to an extension with the Kansas City Royals.

Los Reales de Kansas City y el lanzador derecho Seth Lugo han acordado una extensión de contrato por dos años que incluye una

The Kansas City Royals took pitcher Seth Lugo off the market on Sunday night and could help if the Nationals want to deal MacKenzie Gore.

Now that Seth Lugo has established himself as a top starting pitcher, the New York Mets could reacquire their former draft pick.

The Royals haven’t made their deadline position clear. There are different scenarios at play in which they could operate as either a buyer or possibly as a seller. In recent games, the club has shown promising signs at the plate. The Royals have scored seven or more runs in four of their last six games.