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Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase was arrested by FBI agents at JFK Airport on Thursday and is currently in federal custody, PK Press Club Digital has learned. Clase was indicted on charges related to an alleged gambling scheme to rig bets on games during the MLB season, alongside his Cleveland teammate Luis Ortiz.
Clase was traveling to New York from the Dominican Republic and was scheduled to be arraigned in federal court in Brooklyn.
At his hearing, Clase pleaded not guilty to charges that he took bribes to help players win bets on his slots. He was released on $600,000 bail, surrendered his passport and ordered to limit his travel in New York and Ohio, refrain from gambling and submit to GPS monitoring.
“Emmanuel Clase dedicated his life to baseball and did everything in his power to help his team win,” Clase’s attorney, Michael Ferrara, said in a statement sent Wednesday.
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Emmanuel Clase #48 of the Cleveland Guardians reacts after a home run in the eighth inning against the New York Yankees in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series at Progressive Field on October 17, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Officials said in the indictment that from May 2023 to June 2025, Clase agreed with a co-conspirator to “throw specific pitches in certain MLB games” so that bettors they allegedly associated with would “profit from illegal bets made based on this inside information.” Ortiz would have joined the program in June 2025.
The indictment says Clase talked with a punter about throwing a ball on the first pitch of an at-bat when he was brought to games in relief. The indictment alleged instances that occurred in specific matches, including on May 19, 2023, against the New York Mets; June 2, 2023, against the Minnesota Twins; and June 7, 2023 against the Boston Red Sox.
MLB cracks down with new betting limit after Cleveland pitchers accused of gambling scheme
The leave of Cleveland Guardians pitchers Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase was extended indefinitely on August 31, 2025. (IMAGNE/AP)
Clase allegedly began demanding and receiving bribes and kickbacks for agreeing to pitch specific plots of land in April, according to the indictment. In one case, according to the indictment, Clase used his phone in the middle of a game to coordinate with a punter on a pitch he would throw.
Punters have reportedly won $400,000 on betting platforms on throws launched by Clase between 2023 and 2025.
When Ortiz allegedly joined the system, according to the indictment, he agreed to throw balls on strikes on certain pitches in exchange for bribes or kickbacks. He would have agreed to throw a ball on June 15 against the Seattle Mariners for about $5,000 on his first throw in the second inning.
The indictment says Ortiz agreed to throw a ball on his first pitch of the third inning on June 27 against the St. Louis Cardinals for $7,000.
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Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase during a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco on June 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, file)
As of June 2025, bettors have won at least $60,000 on pitches thrown by Ortiz.
The announcement of the indictment came weeks after three NBA figures were implicated in an FBI operation involving illegal gambling. Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier and Damon Jones were among the more than two dozen arrested in the operation.
