Guardians' Clase and Ortiz on trial in pitch-rigging case

As of 7:40 a.m. ET, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026

Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz went on trial Monday in federal court in Brooklyn on charges that they accepted bribes while colluding with gamblers who bet on individual pitches, The Associated Press reported. Both have pleaded not guilty.

Jury selection began after the players arrived in court Monday morning, according to AP. Several professional baseball players, including catchers, and baseball executives are among the witnesses expected to testify at a trial expected to last about a month, AP reported.

The charges

Clase and Ortiz are charged with wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery and money laundering conspiracy, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York, which announced the indictment on Nov. 9, 2025.

Prosecutors allege that beginning around May 2023, Clase, a relief pitcher, agreed with bettors in advance on the speed and type of certain pitches, so they could place "prop" bets on those pitches at online sportsbooks. The indictment alleges Ortiz, a starting pitcher, joined the scheme around June 2025 and agreed to throw balls on specific pitches in two games in exchange for bribes, according to the office's announcement.

According to the announcement, the indictment alleges that Clase's pitches helped the bettors win at least $400,000 and that Ortiz's pitches helped them win at least $60,000. AP, citing the indictment, said the pitchers accepted several thousand dollars in payoffs to help two gamblers from their native Dominican Republic win at least $460,000.

"The charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty," the office said. If convicted, each faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on each of three counts and five years on the bribery count, according to the office.

The defense

Defense lawyers are expected to argue that the pitchers did not collude with gamblers and were instead varying the placement of pitches strategically to fool batters, AP reported.

Lawyers for Ortiz unsuccessfully sought to have him tried separately from Clase, AP reported. The New York Post, citing The Athletic, said Ortiz's lawyers wrote that he was "a victim of Clase's scheme."

Pretrial ruling

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto, who is presiding, ruled that prosecutors cannot show the jury evidence that Clase owed $500,000 in U.S. taxes, AP reported. The judge found the government had given that evidence to defense lawyers only several days earlier, long after the deadline to turn it over, according to AP.

A prosecutor had argued the evidence would counter any claim by Clase's lawyers that he had no incentive to collude with gamblers because he had several million dollars in accounts in the Dominican Republic, AP reported.

The players

Clase, 28, is a three-time All-Star and two-time American League Reliever of the Year, according to AP. Ortiz, 27, earned $782,600 as a Guardians starter in 2025. Both are on non-disciplinary leave from the club without pay while the case is decided, AP reported.

Major League Baseball and the Guardians have both said they have fully cooperated with authorities, and MLB has said it contacted federal law enforcement when it began investigating unusual betting activity, according to AP.