Bo Naylor Testifies In Clase And Ortiz Pitch-Betting Trial
Former Cleveland Guardians catcher Bo Naylor told a New York jury on Thursday, November 5, 2026 that he did not think anything was unusual about the pitches Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz are accused of rigging for bettors, according to ESPN.
Naylor, now with the Milwaukee Brewers, appeared as a defense witness on the second day of witness testimony. He also said he did not know sportsbooks offered bets on the result or speed of individual pitches until the case became public.
The Defence Account Of The Pitches
Naylor was shown video replays of pitches the government says were predetermined. He was behind the plate for many of them and described them as common sliders outside the strike zone. He said scouting reports on the hitters Ortiz faced in the two pitches at issue showed that sliders low and away would be a weapon.
He caught 14 of Ortiz's 16 starts in 2025, including the June 27 game against the St. Louis Cardinals, one of two games in which Ortiz allegedly rigged a pitch. The government alleges that Ortiz intentionally threw a ball to Pedro Pages with the first pitch of the bottom of the third inning.
Naylor also caught seven of the 18 pitches Clase is accused of rigging across 17 games between May 19, 2023 and May 28, 2025. He told the court none of them struck him as remarkable.
Prosecution Witnesses
Naylor agreed that sharing information with anyone outside the team would be a betrayal, but he said he never suspected a breach of trust by either pitcher.
Later on Thursday, government witness Edward Canario testified, through an interpreter, that he used information from co-defendant Luis Arismendy Paca Mendez to place bets on Clase pitches in May and June 2023. Canario said he was charged with betting on inside information and signed a cooperation agreement that could bring leniency.
He said he paid Paca Mendez half of his winnings but took all the losses. According to betting records shown in court, he wagered upwards of $600 on individual bets, including on Clase pitches to be slower than 94.5 mph or to result in a ball or hit batter.
Joel Trella, director of DraftKings' special investigations unit, testified that the sportsbook found 160 geolocation pings from accounts used at Clase's house. A government attorney told the court that 14 people were geolocated there.
Where The Trial Stands
Clase and Ortiz were indicted in November 2025 and face charges of conspiracy to commit wire and honest services fraud, sports bribery and money laundering. Both have pleaded not guilty.
Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto said the trial is expected to run until December 3. Paca Mendez is not part of the trial after being extradited from the Dominican Republic on October 19.
Our report on how the Clase and Ortiz trial opened over pitch-rigging bets covers the charges and the start of jury selection.
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