Indicted Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz are finally seeing the next steps of their legal process. The two pitchers were alleged to have thrown rigged pitches in order to manipulate bets on first pitch strikes/balls for the inning. There was a massive development on Thursday, so let’s take a closer look at what happened and what it means.
Emmanuel Clase is accused of rigging pitches in 48 games
It appears that Emmanuel Clase has been in wrongdoing for this, if the court document that was filed is accurate. Federal prosecutors listed nine games where Clase had allegedly thrown rigged pitches, but teammate Luis Ortiz’s attorney may have changed things.
Ortiz’s attorney, Christos N. Georgalis, wrote in a filing that the government is now accusing Clase of manipulating dozens of games. He also is asking for the two pitchers to be separate cases as he believes his client would not get a fair trial otherwise.
Both Clase and Ortiz pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting events by bribery, money laundering conspiracy, and honest services wire fraud conspiracy. If they are found guilty, they could find themselves in prison for 20+ years.
The prosecution claims the two have accepted thousands of dollars in bribes in order to help two unnamed gamblers in the Dominican Republic win at least $460,000. The bets in question relate to pitch speed and outcome.
Emmanuel Clase is a two-time American League Reliever of the Year and in the middle of a five-year, $20 million contract. Ortiz was in his fourth big league season, the first with the Guardians in 2025. Major League Baseball placed both pitchers on non-disciplinary leave in July when this was first brought to light.
If this were to be accurate, this would total more than a quarter of his games between the 2023 and 2025 seasons. It would be difficult to imagine that Clase would be able to return to baseball if this were found to be the accurate number. It will be intriguing to see what the courts find both Clase and teammate Luis Ortiz in regard to this case.
