Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz face allegations of accepting bribes from sports bettors to manipulate their pitching during games. The accusations include deliberately throwing pitches off-course to influence the outcomes of prop bets on pitch speed and result, favoring the bettors from their home country, the Dominican Republic.
An indictment revealed in federal court in Brooklyn detailed how Clase and Ortiz allegedly assisted bettors in winning bets by intentionally throwing slower pitches or aiming for balls outside the strike zone. Both players have been on paid leave without disciplinary action since July, following suspicions of unusual betting patterns during their games.
FBI agents arrested Ortiz, 26, at Boston Logan International Airport on Sunday, while Clase, 27, remains at large. The charges against them include wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, influencing sporting contests through bribery, and money laundering conspiracy, carrying potential sentences of up to 20 years if convicted.
This incident adds to the ongoing efforts to combat illicit betting activities in professional sports. Following a Supreme Court decision in 2018 that lifted restrictions on sports betting, there has been a surge in gambling-related incidents involving athletes and officials across various sports leagues.
Notably, last month, over 30 individuals, including NBA figures like Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier, were arrested in connection with a gambling scandal that shook the basketball community. Major League Baseball and the Cleveland Guardians have pledged full cooperation with law enforcement and ongoing investigations into the matter.