Guardians: Emmanuel Clase is breaking bats and records at an almost equal rate. He’s become baseball’s grim reaper, the cream of the closer crop. The Guardians’ right-hander with a devilish cut fastball not seen since Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera’s dominant days with the Yankees is having a season to remember. Maybe one that includes winning the Cy Young, a rarity for relievers. On Monday night, Clase earned his MLB-leading 46th save — his 33rd straight since May 20 to tie José Mesa’s single-season team record — as the Guardians inched closer to an unexpected AL Central title by rallying for a 4-3 win over the Twins. The game followed a familiar script: another Guardians comeback (the club’s 40th), followed by Clase. Progressive Field may be the only place in the majors where if the bullpen door in right field swings open in the ninth inning, it’s game over. It’s been that way was all season. Guardians second baseman Andrés Giménez knows the drill. Once he hears Clase’s entrance song blaring through the ballpark’s sound system and sees his teammate jogging across the outfield grass with his braided, colored hair bouncing out of the back of his cap, there’s only one thing left to do. “I feel like I’m going to go home early,” Giménez said. “Honestly, it’s been absolutely incredible this year, and in the last three years. It’s just unbelievable, saving 40 games each season. It’s crazy. It’s special.” Crazy. Special. Unfathomable. Unhittable. Clase is posting statistics that almost seem imaginary. He’s allowed just five earned runs in 69 1/3 innings, a 0.65 ERA that along with his conversion percentage on saves (94%) has put Clase firmly in the conversation for AL Cy Young consideration. His advanced stats also separate Clase from most pitchers, and the fact that he’s done it for a Cleveland team that has led its division since early April makes the 26-year-old — already the Guardians career saves leader — an even stronger candidate. The AL hasn’t had a reliever win the Cy Young since Dennis Eckersley for the A’s in 1992. The Dodgers’ Eric Gagne was the last NL reliever to win after saving 55 games in 2003. There’s been a reluctance among writers to vote for a specialist, perhaps baseball’s equivalent to a defensive player winning the Heisman Trophy in college football. But Clase has built a strong case to end the drought.

Angels: Mike Trout is open to discussing a position change after he has missed 370 games during the last four seasons. The Angels slugger and three-time American League MVP said before a game against the White Sox on Monday that “everything’s on the table” when he meets with the team during the offseason. That includes moving to a corner outfield spot or more games in the designated hitter spot. Trout has played in only 266 games since the start of the 2021 season. He saw action in 29 games this season before an MRI confirmed he had a torn meniscus in his left knee. Trout had surgery on May 3 before a second tear happened in late July. The 33-year-old Trout has made 1,332 of 1,502 starts in center field during a 14-year career. He has only 90 games in the outfield corners (77 left, 13 right) and 80 at DH.