Cleveland Guardians Pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Jose Ortiz Indicted In Gambling Probe

Cleveland Guardians pitchers Jose Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase have been indicted in federal court on charges related to gambling, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York announced Sunday.

Clase and Ortiz, who are both natives of the Dominican Republic, have been indicted in the United States District Court of the Eastern District of New York, which is based in Brooklyn, on charges related a conspiracy to commit money laundering and fraud related to proposition bets made on the location and speed of the two player’s pitches that made several unnamed bettors over $450,000 in winnings and earned the pitchers kickbacks when the bettors’ wagers won.

According the inidctment, each pitcher has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to influence sports contests by bribery. If convicted, each pitcher could face up to 65 years in federal prison.

Clase and Ortiz had been placed on paid administrative leave by Major League Baseball since July while the league investigated their conduct. The probe began after the Ohio Casino Control Commission reported suspicious proposition bets made on individual pitches thrown by Ortiz in the second inning of a June 15 start against the Seattle Mariners and the third inning of a June 27 start against the St. Louis Cardinals, according to multiple media reports. In both instances, there was unusual betting activity wagering that Ortiz would throw a ball or hit a batter with the first pitch of each of the innings in question. In both instances, Ortiz threw sliders that were well out of the strike zone.

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The indictment stated Clase knew and approved of two bettors placing wagers on the location or speed of specific pitches Clase would throw. Clase would then throw a pitch that would result in a winning wager for the bettors.

“Professional athletes, like Luis Leandro Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase de la Cruz hold a position of trust—not only with their teammates and their professional leagues, but with fans who believe in fair play,” stated United States Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. in a press release announcing the indictments. “As alleged, the defendants sold that trust to gamblers by fixing pitches. In doing so, the defendants deprived the Cleveland Guardians and Major League Baseball of their honest services. They defrauded the online betting platforms where the bets were placed. And they betrayed America’s pastime. … Today’s charges make clear that our Office will continue to vigorously prosecute those who corrupt sports through illegal means.”

According to the indictment, the scheme began in 2023, and usually involved the first pitch of an at-bat or an inning. The first instance cited in the court documents involved a May 19, 2023 game involving the Guardians and the New York Mets played at Citi Field, which is located in the Eastern District of New York, where Clase threw a fastball and bettors allegedly won approximately $27,000 by wagering that the pitch would be faster than 94.95 mph. The court documents also state that Clase allegedly requested and received money from the bettors for throwing specific pitches on which they profited.

Both Clase and Ortiz were in training camp in their native Dominican Republic with LIDOM’s Estrellas Orientales, but were blocked by the league’s administration from pitching during the 2025-26 season. Clase then signed to pitch in Venezuela with the Tiburones de La Guaira, but the Guardians did not grant him permission. Clase led the Major Leagues in saves from 2022-24 and finished third in the Cy Young balloting in 2024, when he had one of the most dominant seasons by a reliever in MLB history. That year, Clase threw 74 1/3 innings with a 0.61 ERA, 47 saves, a 0.659 WHIP, and an ERA+ of 667.

During the scheme, which ran from 2023-25 when the two were placed on leave by MLB, Clase allegedly used his cellphone during the game to contact the bettors in violation of MLB rules, according to the court documents.

At one point, during a May 28, 2025 game between Cleveland and the Los Angeles Dodgers, the bettors allegedly texted Clase to confirm that he would participate in their scheme in that game. He entered the game in the ninth inning with Cleveland leading 7-4, and threw a first-pitch slider out of the zone to Dodgers’ lead-off man Andy Pages. Pages swung and missed at the pitch, which resulted in a strike, resulting in the two bettors losing their wagers that the pitch would be a ball or would hit the batter.

https://t.co/rtj94sMYmS pic.twitter.com/lpwsoLERaC

— Michael Rosen (@bymichaelrosen) November 9, 2025

One of the bettors later texted Clase a gif of a man hanging himself with toilet paper, the court documents state, and Clase allegedly replied by texting an image of a sad puppy dog face.

Under MLB’s Rule 21, players and other team personnel who are found to have wagered on baseball games are suspended for a year, while those who bet on games in which they have a duty to perform are subject to a lifetime ban.

Major League Baseball has yet to announce a suspension or ban to either Clase or Ortiz related to the investigation launched earlier this year into their conduct, though both remain on paid administrative leave.

In June 2024, MLB suspended five players for gambling-related misconduct, with four players, Athletics right-handed pitcher Michael Kelly, San Diego Padres minor league pitcher Jay Groome, Philadelphia Phillies minor league infielder José Rodríguez and Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Andrew Saalfrank receiving one-year suspensions. Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Tucupita Marcano was placed on the permanently ineligible list, the first player to be so sanctioned since 1924, when New York Giants shortstop Jimmy O’Connell was banned by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, along with Giants coach Cozy Dolan, for offering Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Heinie Sand $500 to lose a game between the two teams intentionally.

According to a post on X by Passan, Ortiz was arrested this morning in Boston, while Clase has not been taken into custody.

The case is No. 1:-25-cr-00346 and assigned to Judge Kiyo Matsumoto.

Photo: Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase during a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco, June 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, file)