Copyright cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz are walking two paths at the same time. They both lead to the same place — a dead end. Clase and Ortiz, who opened the 2025 season on the Guardians’ pitching staff, could face up to 65 years in prison based on an indictment that was unsealed Sunday in the Eastern District of New York. More Guardians coverage Guardians’ Luis Ortiz releases statement declaring his innocence on gambling charges, vows to fight in court Guardians’ Emmanuel Clase, Luis Ortiz indicted on federal gambling charges; both face up to 65 years in prison if convicted Can Guardians find offense with same-old offseason approach? The week in baseball They’ve been charged with throwing rigged pitches in big league games in which they and bettors allegedly profited. The indictment alleges that Clase, the Guardians all-time saves leader, started throwing rigged pitches during the 2023 season and recruited Ortiz during the 2025 season. Ortiz was arrested Sunday in Boston. Clase was not believed to be in custody. Here’s a list of the charges and maximum penalties they face. Twenty years’ imprisonment on a wire fraud conspiracy count. Twenty years on honest services wire fraud conspiracy count. Five years on conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery count. Twenty years on the money laundering conspiracy count. That’s one path — federal prison. The second path is a lifetime ban from baseball. Major League Baseball, which has been investigating the two pitchers since July, is expected to let the Federal investigation run its course. When that ends, Commissioner Rob Manfred will determine the future of Clase and Ortiz’s careers based on Rule 21. The rule was created after the Chicago Black Sox scandal in 1919. It is the league’s code of conduct for preventing gambling on baseball. The crux of the rule is this: Any player, umpire, club or league official, or employee who bets on a baseball game in which they have a duty to perform (e.g., their own team) is permanently ineligible. If the allegations made in the indictment are true, Clase and Ortiz will not pitch in another big league game. This is a self-inflicted wound for Manfred and MLB. They couldn’t wait to jump into bed with gambling entities once sports gambling was made legal. It’s turned every cellphone on the planet into a walking casino, but it has also smeared the integrity of the game. However, every player in the big leagues and minors is aware of the rules against gambling. Based on the indictment, Clase and Ortiz allegedly took bribes, kickbacks and tipped off bettors in advance on the pitches they were going to throw to cash in on prop bets. Prop bets offer bettors a chance to bet on a specific part of a game that doesn’t necessarily concern the final score. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine is at the forefront of a movement to ban them. While the indictment cites numerous pitches that Clase rigged, it uses just two examples concerning Ortiz. In a game against Seattle on June 15, 2025, Ortiz allegedly received a $5,000 bribe for throwing a ball (instead of a strike) on a particular pitch. Clase allegedly received $5,000 as the middle man between Ortiz and bettors. On June 27, 2025 against St. Louis, Ortiz allegedly agreed to throw another rigged pitch in exchange for a $7,000 bribe, while Clase received $7,000 for arranging the pitch. Before the game, according to the indictment, Clase withdrew $50,000 and gave $15,000 to co-conspirators, who bet on Ortiz’s pitch. The total illegal payoff for the bettors was about $60,000. Here’s the puzzling part. Clase signed a five-year $20 million deal with the Guardians in 2022. Getting kickbacks for between $5,000 and $7,000 is walking around money in the big leagues. In fact, the Guardians owe Clase $6 million for the 2026 season, but whether they pay it or not will probably be decided after the Federal and MLB investigations. So why would they do it? Was Clase upset because he signed a remarkably undervalued deal before he became one of the best closers in baseball? It’s a question without an answer. According to Baseball Reference, Clase has made $11.6 million in his career. Clase and Ortiz were discovered only after legal sportsbooks recorded unusual betting activity when they pitched and alerted MLB. Otherwise, it would have been a perfect scam. In 2023, when Clase allegedly started working with gamblers, he was establishing himself as a closer, saving 43 games with 12 blown saves. In 2024, he was even better going 4-2 with a 0.61 ERA and 47 saves in 50 chances. If he threw a couple of pitches in the dirt to start the ninth inning, who would notice? Certainly the Guardians didn’t see it. How could they? Catcher Austin Hedges, who caught Clase a lot in the ninth inning, repeatedly called him the best pitcher baseball. The money may have meant more to Ortiz. He signed a one-year contract with Cleveland for $782,600, just above the league minimum. Like Clase, however, it would have been hard to detect any foul play because he had a history of control problems. In spring training, Clase and Luis Ortiz had their lockers near each other. They laughed and talked about their farms and animals in the Dominican Republic. Often you could hear chickens and roosters cackling in the background as Clase Facetimed with people on his farm. Well, the chickens have come home to roost for Clase and Ortiz.
