Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz are facing allegations of accepting bribes from sports bettors to manipulate their pitching strategies, such as deliberately throwing inaccurate pitches to influence specific betting outcomes.
An indictment revealed in federal court in Brooklyn states that Clase and Ortiz allegedly colluded with bettors from the Dominican Republic to assist in winning prop bets related to pitch speed and results by intentionally throwing slower pitches outside the strike zone.
Both players have been on paid leave without disciplinary action since July as Major League Baseball probed unusually high betting activity during their games.
Ortiz, 26, was apprehended by the FBI at Boston Logan International Airport and is scheduled to appear in a Boston federal court. Clase, 27, is currently not in custody.
Legal representatives for Ortiz and Clase have refrained from commenting on the situation.
The pitchers are facing charges of wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sports contests through bribery, and money laundering conspiracy, carrying potential sentences of up to 20 years in prison upon conviction.
These accusations against Clase and Ortiz mark the latest developments in the government’s efforts to combat illicit betting in professional sports.
While sports leagues have long been vigilant against betting scandals, a pivotal U.S. Supreme Court ruling in May 2018 paved the way for increased gambling incidents involving athletes and officials by overturning a federal law prohibiting sports betting in most states.
In a separate incident last month, over 30 individuals, including prominent basketball figures like Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, were arrested in a gambling crackdown that rattled the NBA.
Major League Baseball confirmed its collaboration with law enforcement in response to the suspicious betting behavior and pledged continued cooperation with ongoing investigations.
The Guardians stated, “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 progress.”