Guardians Pitchers in Hot Water Over Betting Scandal

By: Leyah Jackson

Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz both pled not guilty in Brooklyn Federal Court to charges related to sports betting this past Wednesday and Thursday. Clase was released on a bond of $600,000 and Ortiz will be released next week on $500,000 bond.

According to ABC News, the indictment cites that Clase began conspiring with sports bettors in 2023 on specific pitches he would throw during games. The bettors would then use the information to place prop bets (proposition bets) worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

The bettors wagered on details such as the speed and type of Clase’s pitches based on information given to them by Clase. According to prosecutors, Clase received bribes and kickbacks in exchange for information.

The indictment includes an example of a Guardians-Red Sox game in which, after scoring game tickets for a bettor and coordinating with them during the game, the bettor won $11,000 by wagering that a pitch by Clase would be slower than 98mph. According to the indictment, Luis Ortiz allegedly joined the scheme in June 2025, and allegedly agreed to throw balls instead of strikes on pitches in two games in exchange for bribes and kickbacks.

Per NPR News, Ortiz's lawyer, Chris Georgalis, said that his client was innocent and "has never, and would never, improperly influence a game — not for anyone and not for anything."

Ortiz's defense team has previously documented for prosecutors that payments and money transfers to individuals in the Dominican Republic were for lawful activities.

“I think people are going to get the negative connotation that they are cheaters, because fans don’t forget anything. I’ve seen players get boo’d when stepping onto the field due to scandals or incidents that happened years ago, so this will definitely be a stain on their reputation,” said Jadea Pittman, first-year biology major and Cleveland, Ohio native.

Both Clase and Ortiz have been on non-disciplinary paid leave from the Cleveland Guardians since July, when Major League Baseball started investigating what it said was unusually high in-game betting activity when they pitched. 

“This is definitely a learning opportunity for college athletes. That could be them one day and they don’t want to throw away everything they’ve worked for just for a couple extra dollars,” Pittman said.