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Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase faced additional allegations of rigging pitches for the benefit of punters in a new document filed Thursday.
Clase is accused of throwing suspicious pitches for the benefit of those who bet on him in at least 48 games, according to ESPN. The initial indictment filed in November accused Clase of fixing pitches in specific matches between May 2023 and June 2025.
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Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase (48) throws a pitch during the ninth inning against the Athletics at Progressive Field on July 18, 2025. (Ken Blaze/Imagn Images)
PK Press Club Digital has reached out to Clase’s attorney for comment.
Clase has pleaded not guilty to charges that he took bribes to help players win bets at 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.
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.
Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase during a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco, June 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, file)
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Clase’s attorney, Michael Ferrara, said in October that Clase maintains his innocence.
“Emmanuel Clase dedicated his life to baseball and did everything in his power to help his team win,” he said at the time.
Both Clase and teammate Luis Ortiz were involved in the alleged scheme. Ortiz would have joined the program in June 2025.
Ortiz’s attorney, Christos N. Georgalis, filed the document Thursday, saying federal prosecutors are bringing charges against Clase and arguing that his client’s case be handled separately from Clase’s.
Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase reacts after the Guardians defeated the Baltimore Orioles in a baseball game in Cleveland, Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
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Georgalis said a jury might be able to find Ortiz guilty by association.
