Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase have been indicted by the Department of Justice, via multiple reports. The pair, who have been on indefinite leave amid an MLB gambling investigation, have been charged with sports betting and money laundering conspiracy.
In a 23-page indictment, the DOJ alleges that the two pitchers conspired with bettors to intentionally throw balls so that their co-conspirators could cash in on wagers related to the type of pitch. Prosecutors say that Clase may have been participating in this scheme as early as May 2023, while Ortiz joined in later.
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Per ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Ortiz was arrested in Boston on Sunday, while Clase is not yet in custody.
Ortiz was placed on leave on July 3 after MLB flagged two of the starter’s pitches in June. Both of the suspicious pitches were balls thrown well outside the zone, with both happening at the very beginning of an inning; in both incidents, large amounts were placed on the outcome of the first pitch of the inning.
Clase — considered one of the best closers in the league — was placed on leave on July 28, though his connection to the league’s gambling investigation was initially unknown.
Both pitchers were initially set to go off leave on Aug. 31, but MLB chose to extend the leave “until further notice” on the day it was supposed to expire.
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In connection with the investigation, Ohio regulators began drafting a bill to ban certain types of micro-bets in August at the request of Gov. Mike DeWine.
“The harm to athletes and the integrity of the game is clear, and the benefits are not worth the harm. The prop betting experiment in this country has failed badly,” DeWine said in a news release on July 31.
This story will be updated.
