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Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz has pleaded not guilty to charges of taking bribes in exchange for ensuring players won their bets on his pitches.
Ortiz, 26, appeared in Brooklyn federal court Wednesday after being arrested Sunday at Boston’s Logan International Airport.
Ortiz was released on $500,000 bail until his next court date in December. He is subject to GPS monitoring and has been ordered to limit his travel to New York, Massachusetts and Ohio.
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Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Luis Ortiz (45) celebrates during the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Progressive Field on May 30, 2025. (Ken Blaze/Imagn Images)
His Guardians teammate Emmanuel Clase was also charged in the alleged scheme.
Clase will be arraigned at the same courthouse on Thursday.
“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 an emailed statement Wednesday.
MLB placed Ortiz and Clase on non-disciplinary paid leave due to an investigation into gambling on July 3. When PK Press Club Digital requested an update on the investigation on October 22, MLB directed PK Press Club Digital to an August statement.
“MLB contacted federal law enforcement early in its investigation and has cooperated fully throughout the process. We are aware of today’s indictment and arrest, and our investigation is ongoing,” MLB’s statement Sunday said.
Clase and Ortiz “conspired with bettors to rig pitches at professional baseball games so that bettors would profit from illegal bets made based on this inside information,” the indictment states. “Defendants agreed in advance with their co-conspirators to throw specific types and speeds of pitchers, and their co-conspirators used this inside information to place bets on these pitches.
“In some cases, defendants received bribes and kickbacks – routed through third parties – in exchange for rigging. Through this scheme, defendants defrauded betting platforms, deprived Major League Baseball and the Cleveland Guardians of their honest services, illegally enriched themselves and their co-conspirators, misled the public, and betrayed America’s past.”
PITCHKEEPERS CHARGED IN GAMING SCHEME INVOLVING MLB GAMES
Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz remain on leave amid investigation into gambling ahead of the World Series. (David Dermer and Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn)
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 spoke with a punter who threw a ball on the first pitch of an at-bat when he was brought to games in relief. The indictment alleged instances that occurred during subsequent games, including May 19, 2023 against the New York Mets, June 2, 2023 against the Minnesota Twins, and June 7, 2023 against the Boston Red Sox.
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, the indictment says 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 Clase-launched pitcher betting platforms between 2023 and 2025.
When Ortiz allegedly joined the system, the indictment said he agreed to throw balls on strikes on certain pitches in exchange for bribes or kickbacks. He reportedly agreed to throw a pitch on June 15 against the Seattle Mariners for about $5,000 on his first pitch 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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Luis Ortiz of the Cleveland Guardians pitches the first inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins in Cleveland, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, 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.
