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Federal officials indicted two Major League Baseball pitchers on charges related to an alleged gambling scheme concocted to rig bets on games during the season.
Cleveland Guardians pitchers Luis Ortiz and All-Star pitcher Emmanuel Clase were the targets of the investigation and the two face charges in the alleged scheme. Ortiz was reportedly arrested in Boston earlier Sunday, while Clase has yet to be taken into custody.
The pitchers face charges of wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery and money laundering. Both pitchers are from the Dominican Republic.
“We are aware of the recent law enforcement action. We will continue to fully cooperate with both law enforcement and Major League Baseball as their investigations continue,” the team said.
MLB placed Ortiz and Clase on non-disciplinary paid leave due to a gambling probe on July 3. When Fox News Digital reached out for an update on the investigation on Oct. 22, MLB directed Fox News Digital to an August statement.
“MLB contacted federal law enforcement at the outset of its investigation and has fully cooperated throughout the process. We are aware of the indictment and today’s arrest, and our investigation is ongoing,” MLB’s statement on Sunday read.
Clase and Ortiz “conspired with bettors to rig pitches in professional baseball games so that the bettors would profit from illegal wagers made based on that inside information,” the indictment read. “The defendants agreed in advance with their co-conspirators to throw specific types and speeds of pitchers, and their co-conspirators used that inside information to place wagers on those pitches.
“In some instances, the defendants received bribes and kickback payments – funneled through third parties – in exchange for rigging pitches. Through this scheme, the defendants defrauded betting platforms, deprived Major League Baseball and the Cleveland Guardians of their honest services, illegally enriched themselves and their co-conspirators, misled the public and betrayed America’s past time.”
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Officials said in the indictment that from May 2023 to June 2025 Clase agreed with one co-conspirator to “throw specific pitches in certain MLB games” so that the bettors they were allegedly partnered with “would profit from illegal wagers made based on that inside information.” Ortiz allegedly joined the scheme in June 2025.
The indictment said Clase conferred with one bettor throw a ball on the first pitch of an at-bat when he was brought into games in relief. The indictment pointed to instances in the following games, including May 19, 2023, vs. the New York Mets, June 2, 2023, vs. the Minnesota Twins and June 7, 2023, vs. the Boston Red Sox.
Clase allegedly began to request and receive bribes and kickback payments for agreeing to throw the specific pitches in April, according to the indictment. In one instance, the indictment said Clase used his phone in the middle of a game to coordinate with a bettor on a pitch he would throw.
Bettors allegedly won $400,000 from betting platforms on pitchers thrown by Clase between 2023 and 2025.
When Ortiz allegedly joined the scheme, the indictment said he agreed to throw balls over strikes on certain pitches in exchange for bribes or kickbacks. He allegedly agreed to throw a ball on June 15 against the Seattle Mariners for around $5,000 in his first pitch in the second inning.
The indictment said Ortiz agreed to throw a ball in his first pitch of the third inning on June 27 against the St. Louis Cardinals for $7,000.
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In June 2025, bettors won at least $60,000 on pitches thrown by Ortiz.
The indictment announcement came weeks after three NBA figures were swept up in an FBI operation involving illegal gambling. Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier and Damon Jones were among the more than two dozen arrested in the scheme.
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