Clase And Ortiz Trial Opens Over Pitch-Rigging Bets
The federal trial of Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz began on Monday 2 November with jury selection in Brooklyn.
Prosecutors accuse the pair of agreeing in advance on specific pitches and passing that information to bettors, who then placed wagers on those throws. AFP reports that both men deny the charges.
The case feeds into the wider debate over betting integrity and risk controls.
The Charges
Clase and Ortiz face wire fraud, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery and money laundering conspiracy charges, according to AFP. Each defendant faces up to 20 years in prison on the wire fraud conspiracy count, 20 years for honest services wire fraud conspiracy, five years on the bribery conspiracy and 20 years on the money laundering conspiracy.
The Dominican right-handers were placed on leave in July 2025 as authorities investigated, and were indicted last November. The New York Post describes Clase (28) as a three-time All-Star and standout closer and Ortiz (27) as a four-year starting pitcher.
It reports that prosecutors allege both tipped off bettors about their intentions on specific pitches, helping the bettors and the pitchers themselves win money. The Associated Press reports the case is expected to run about a month, with witnesses including professional baseball players, catchers and baseball executives.
What Prosecutors Allege
The government says Clase became involved in rigging prop bets on individual pitches in 2023, with wagers on the speed and type of the throws he would make. Prosecutors said he often threw the rigged pitches first in an at-bat, and that to make sure certain pitches were called balls he threw many in the dirt, well outside the strike zone.
Clase is alleged to have received kickbacks from the bettors for the information, and sometimes to have provided money to finance the scheme. Prosecutors say Ortiz joined in 2025, citing a game in June of that year in which he was paid $5,000 to throw a particular pitch after conspiring with Clase.
Overall, prosecutors say the two helped bettors win around $450,000 from fraudulent wagers placed on sportsbooks including DraftKings and FanDuel.
How It Came To Light
The scheme surfaced after betting platforms flagged an unusually large volume of bets on Ortiz's first pitch in a game against the Seattle Mariners on 15 June 2025, and on another game later that month against the St. Louis Cardinals.
That detail matters for the betting industry, because it shows platform monitoring picking up abnormal activity on a narrow market. A court filing from prosecutors said Clase and Ortiz defrauded betting platforms, enriched themselves and their co-conspirators, misled the public and betrayed baseball.
Prosecutors have said the pitchers' conduct deceived the public as well as the platforms. The defendants are presumed innocent unless a jury finds otherwise. Verdicts are not expected until the trial concludes.
