Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were placed on administrative leave in July while Major League Baseball investigated them for potentially violating the league’s gambling policies. MLB was examining whether Clase and Ortiz had intentionally thrown pitches out of the strike zone in specific situations to manipulate prop bets. At the time, the evidence was largely circumstantial, but the situation has taken a turn for the worse for both pitchers.
This past weekend, Ortiz and Clase were formally charged with fraud, conspiracy, and bribery by the Department of Justice, which released a 23-page indictment outlining a detailed case alleging that the two pitchers were at the center of a highly coordinated and profitable betting scheme.
According to the DOJ, between May 2023 and June 2025, Clase and Ortiz conspired with at least two bettors to manipulate prop bets on specific pitches. The indictment claims that the unnamed bettors collectively won more than $400,000 through these wagers. The pitchers themselves only made a minimal sum of money off of the bad pitches it seems.
How the alleged scheme was perpetrated were simplistic. The bettors, using multiple platforms, would place large wagers that either Clase’s or Ortiz’s first pitch of a particular inning would be a ball and would fall below a certain velocity threshold. In exchange for payments, the pitchers would deliver a breaking ball well outside the strike zone to begin the inning, ensuring the bets would hit.
Federal investigators said text messages, betting records, and video footage link the players to the operation. If convicted, both face potential prison sentences and permanent bans from professional baseball.
The Guardians and MLB released brief statements acknowledging the indictment and emphasizing cooperation with federal authorities. “We take these allegations very seriously,” MLB said Sunday. “Integrity of the game is paramount.”