Emmanuel

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Nov. 9 (UPI) — Emmanuel Clase de la Cruz and Luis Leandro Ortiz Ribera, two pitchers with the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball, were indicted Sunday for taking bribes in exchange for throwing rigged pitches so bettors could profit off the illegal information.

Federal prosecutors said Ortiz, 26, was arrested Sunday in Boston, Mass. Clase, 27, was already in police custody, authorities said.

The grand jury indictment unsealed Sunday in a Brooklyn courthouse charges the pair of pitchers with honest services wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery and money-laundering conspiracy.

“Integrity, honesty and fair play are part of the DNA of professional sports. When corruption infiltrates the sport, it brings disgrace not only to the participants but damages the public trust in an institution that is vital and dear to all of us,” U.S. Attorney for the Eastern of New York Joseph Nocella Jr. said in a statement announcing the indictment.

Federal prosecutors allege the conspiracy began around May 2023 when Clase, a relief pitcher agreed with bettors to rig so-called prop bets on pitches he threw. Ortiz allegedly agreed to join the conspiracy in June.

The indictment states at least two bettors were involved in the conspiracy who allegedly used two online betting platforms to make their illegal wagers.

According to the document, Clase agreed with a person identified as Bettor-1 around May of 2023 to throw specific pitches, often balls and slower sliders, on the first pitches when brought in as relief during a game.

In one instance referenced in the document, Clase allegedly threw a pitch slower than 94.95 mph into the dirt “well before home plate.” Bettor-1 and others won about $38,000 on the pitch, according to the document.

In another instance, in late June 2025, after Ortiz allegedly joined the conspiracy, Ortiz agreed to throw a rigged pitch in exchange for $7,000. Clase allegedly was also paid $7,000 for arranging the interaction.

The pitch was to be thrown in a June 27 game, before which Ortiz allegedly withdrew $50,000 in cash, $15,000 of which was allegedly provided to an unnamed co-conspirator who bet on the rigged pitch.

If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment for each honest wire fraud conspiracy and honest services wire fraud conspiracy, five years for conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery and 20 years for money laundering.

Ortiz is to be arraigned in the Eastern District Court of New York at a later date.

Clase was entering the fourth year of his five-year, $20 million contract with the Guardians, which he signed in 2022 and runs through 2026.

The indictment against Clase and Ortiz is the latest legal action taken in the last few weeks targeting illegal gambling in professional and amateur sports.

On Friday, the NCAA stripped eligibility from six former men’s basketball players for betting-related game manipulation.

Last month, Terry Rozier of the Miami Heat and Chauncey Billups, coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, were arrested over their alleged involvement in a wide-ranging illegal sports betting and poker investigation.

Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase and starter Luis Ortiz face federal charges of fraud, bribery and conspiracy for allegedly intentionally throwing pitches outside the strike zone so bettors could wager correctly on whether pitches would be balls or strikes.

The 23-page indictment filed in the Eastern District of New York outlines several incidents, including one this season that involved the Dodgers.

During a game at Cleveland on May 28, the indictment states that Clase threw a pitch that was meant to be a ball, but Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages swung and missed, resulting in a strike. Clase retired the side in order for his 11th save of the season in Cleveland’s 7-4 victory.

About 20 minutes later, the indictment states that “Bettor-1” sent a message to Clase of a GIF of a man hanging himself with toilet paper. Clase allegedly responded to “Bettor-1” with a GIF of a sad puppy dog face.

The indictment states that from 2023 to 2025, bettors “won at least $400,000 from the Betting Platforms on pitches thrown by” Clase.

Ortiz joined the scheme in 2025, according to the indictment: “Ortiz agreed to throw balls (instead of strikes) on certain pitches in exchange for bribes or kickbacks.” Clase allegedly served as middle man between the bettors and Ortiz.

The indictment states the alleged scheme started as early as May 2023 with Clase, who purposely threw pitches outside the strike zone so bettors could win proposition bets.

“The bettors wagered on the speed and type of Clase’s pitches, based on information they knew in advance by coordinating with Clase, sometimes even during MLB games,” the indictment said. “Clase often threw these pitches on the first pitch of an at-bat. To ensure certain pitches were called as balls, Clase often threw many of them in the dirt, well outside the strike zone.”

Clase, 27, is one of the top closers in baseball. The right-hander from the Dominican Republic led the American League in saves in 2022, 2023 and 2024 and has a career earned-run average of 1.88 to go with 182 saves.

Clase signed a five-year, $20-million contract in April 2022 that included a $2-million signing bonus. The deal also includes $10 million club options for 2027 and 2028.

Ortiz, also from the Dominican Republic, was traded to the Guardians before the 2025 season after spending three seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Both pitchers were placed on non-disciplinary paid leave in July when MLB launched an investigation and were moved to the restricted list when the regular season ended. The Ohio Casino Control Commission also started an investigation.

If convicted on all charges, both pitchers face up to 65 years in prison.

ESPN reported that the betting-integrity firm IC360 sent alerts to sportsbook operators regarding two pitches thrown by Ortiz in June. The first came when Ortiz spiked a slider in the dirt to open the second inning against the Seattle Mariners. The second came when Ortiz opened the third inning against the St. Louis Cardinals with a slider that flew to the backstop.

The Guardians released the following statement: “We are aware of the recent law enforcement action. We will continue to fully cooperate with both law enforcement and Major League Baseball as their investigations continue.”