After Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Jose Ortiz, who were indicted in United States federal court on gambling charges in December, were barred from pitching for the Estrellas Orientales in LIDOM, the Dominican Republic’s top professional league, they filed a lawsuit against the league.
That lawsuit, demanding that the decision to bar Clase and Ortiz by LIDOM president Vitelio Mejia be overturned and that the two pitchers be ruled eligible, was rejected by a court in Santo Domingo, the country’s capital, ESPN Deportes’ Enrique Rojas reported Friday.
Tribunal rechaza demanda de Emmanuel Clase y Luis Ortiz para que se les quite impedimento de jugar en liga dominicana. pic.twitter.com/TjKSFFrmKk
— Enrique Rojas/ESPN (@Enrique_Rojas1) January 9, 2026
Rojas tweeted a photo of a statement in Spanish issued by LIDOM announcing the rejection of the case.
“The presiding judge of the Civil and Commercial Chamber of the Court of First Instance of the National District, acting in his capacity as a judge in summary proceedings, rejected the lawsuit filed before that court by players Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz,” the statement said.
“Among other grounds, the presiding judge based his decision on Article 56 of the Current Regulations for the 2025-2026 Lidom Tournament, which states that: ‘The President of the League is fully authorized to decide on any matter not provided for in these regulations or not assigned by the bylaws or by another regulation to another official or body of the League, in which case any decision of the president shall be provisional until it is ratified or revoked by the Board of Directors.'”
“LIDOM is confident that the other legal actions filed against the League and its president by players Clase and Ortiz will meet the same fate,” the statement concluded.
In July, the two pitchers were placed on paid administrative leave while Major League Baseball conducted an investigation into gambling-related misconduct by the two pitchers.
Both Ortiz and Clase were in training camp in their native Dominican Republic with the Estrellas Orientales in October before Mejia, the LIDOM president, ruled both of them to be ineligible to play. Ortiz then sought to play in Venezuela with the Tiburones de La Guaira of the Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional, but the Guardians denied the elite closer permission to play in Venezuela, citing the rules promulgated by the Winter League Agreement, which allows MLB clubs the right to nix a player from playing winter ball outside of their home country.
Less than two months after the two hurlers were barred from LIDOM, they were indicted in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on charges they took money from gamblers to deliberately throw pitches outside the strike zone at pre-agreed times, enabling the gamblers to win wagers placed on the outcome of the individual pitchers.
Clase, 27, and Ortiz, 26, were both charged with wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery and money laundering conspiracy. The top charges carry a potential punishment of up to 20 years in prison in the event of a conviction.
The Estrellas finished 22-28 in the 50-game LIDOM regular season and missed the playoffs, and neither Ortiz nor Clase made an appearance in winter ball this year.
Clase and Ortiz’s criminal trial is scheduled to begin in May in federal court in Brooklyn, New York before Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto, with jury selection beginning on May 4.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Photo: Cleveland Guardians baseball player Emmanuel Clase leaves Brooklyn federal court, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)
