MLB Gambling Scandal: Cleveland Guardians Pitchers Charged in Betting Scheme
In a shocking development that has rocked Major League Baseball, Cleveland Guardians pitchers Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase have been indicted on serious charges related to an alleged gambling conspiracy. This case represents one of the most significant integrity breaches in recent baseball history, with both players accused of deliberately manipulating their pitches to help gamblers win bets. On Wednesday, 26-year-old Ortiz appeared in a Brooklyn federal court after being arrested at Boston’s Logan International Airport, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. He was released on a substantial $500,000 bond with strict conditions, including GPS monitoring and travel restrictions limiting him to New York, Massachusetts, and Ohio until his next court appearance in December. His teammate Clase is scheduled for arraignment at the same courthouse on Thursday, with his lawyer Michael Ferrara already defending his client by stating that “Emmanuel Clase has devoted his life to baseball and doing everything in his power to help his team win.”
The alleged scheme, which prosecutors claim ran from May 2023 to June 2025, involved both pitchers conspiring with bettors to “rig pitches in professional baseball games” so their co-conspirators could profit from illegal wagers based on insider information. According to the indictment, the players agreed in advance to throw specific types and speeds of pitches, receiving bribes and kickbacks—often channeled through third parties—in exchange for their cooperation. This arrangement allegedly defrauded betting platforms, deprived MLB and the Cleveland Guardians of honest services, illegally enriched the participants, misled the public, and betrayed the integrity of America’s national pastime. Major League Baseball had placed both players on non-disciplinary paid leave on July 3 amid the gambling investigation, and the league has stated it contacted federal law enforcement at the beginning of its own inquiry and has “fully cooperated throughout the process.”
The indictment details specific instances of the alleged scheme in action, with Clase reportedly agreeing with a co-conspirator to throw particular pitches in certain games dating back to May 2023. One recurring pattern involved throwing a ball on the first pitch of an at-bat when entering games as a relief pitcher. Federal investigators cited specific games where this behavior allegedly occurred, including matchups against the New York Mets (May 19, 2023), Minnesota Twins (June 2, 2023), and Boston Red Sox (June 7, 2023). By April 2024, Clase had allegedly begun requesting and receiving bribes for these predetermined pitches, with the indictment even claiming he used his phone during a game to coordinate with a bettor about an upcoming pitch. The scheme was apparently lucrative for the gamblers involved, who allegedly won approximately $400,000 from betting platforms on Clase’s pitches between 2023 and 2025.
Ortiz’s involvement allegedly began in June 2025, when he agreed to throw balls instead of strikes on certain pitches in exchange for financial compensation. The indictment specifically mentions a June 15 game against the Seattle Mariners, where Ortiz purportedly received around $5,000 to throw a ball on his first pitch of the second inning. Similarly, he allegedly agreed to throw a ball on his first pitch of the third inning during a June 27 game against the St. Louis Cardinals for $7,000. In just the month of June 2025, bettors allegedly won at least $60,000 betting on pitches thrown by Ortiz, demonstrating the significant financial incentives driving this scheme. These specific allegations paint a troubling picture of professional athletes potentially compromising the fundamental fairness of competition for personal gain.
The timing of these indictments is particularly notable as they come just weeks after another major gambling scandal rocked professional sports, when more than two dozen individuals connected to the NBA—including coach Chauncey Billups, player Terry Rozier, and former player Damon Jones—were arrested in an FBI operation targeting illegal gambling activities. This clustering of gambling-related investigations across professional sports leagues suggests a potentially broader problem with gambling integrity in American sports, particularly as legal sports betting has rapidly expanded across the country in recent years. The cases also highlight the increasing scrutiny being placed on the intersection of professional sports and the gambling industry, with federal authorities clearly taking an aggressive stance against corruption in this space.
The allegations against Clase and Ortiz strike at the heart of baseball’s integrity, reminiscent of the sport’s darkest scandal—the 1919 “Black Sox” affair when Chicago White Sox players conspired to throw the World Series. While these current allegations don’t suggest the outcomes of games were manipulated, the notion that individual pitches could be predetermined for gambling purposes undermines fan confidence in the authenticity of competition. As both players now face the legal process, MLB must also consider the broader implications for the sport’s relationship with the gambling industry, which has become increasingly intertwined through sponsorship deals and partnerships with betting companies. The scandal serves as a sobering reminder that as sports betting becomes more mainstream and accessible, the temptation for athletes to participate in gambling schemes may also increase, creating new challenges for leagues working to protect the integrity of their games in a changing landscape.
