2 MLB pitchers charged with rigging throws for bets

Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase

Prosecutors said Clase 'began rigging pitches as early as May 2023'

(Image credit: Tanner Gatlin / MLB Photos via Getty Images)

What happened

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn Sunday unsealed an indictment charging Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz with rigging their pitches to enrich bettors and themselves.

Prosecutors alleged that Clase, “one of baseball’s best closers over the past several seasons, received bribes and kickbacks for participating in the scheme,” The Wall Street Journal said.

Who said what

Ortiz and Clase “betrayed America’s pastime,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said. The indictment was the latest “involving gambling to rock the world of professional sports, and the third in the past month” from Nocella’s office, The New York Times said. Last month, he charged more than 30 people, including an NBA star and head coach, in alleged gambling schemes that shook professional basketball.

Sports betting scandals “have long been a concern,” The Associated Press said, “but a May 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling led to a wave of gambling incidents involving athletes and officials.” The details of this indictment “are jarring for a sport that maintains its most sacred rule is not betting on baseball,” The Washington Post said. Prosecutors said Clase, 27, “began rigging pitches as early as May 2023, a year after he signed a five-year deal with Cleveland worth $20 million.” Both pitchers denied the allegations through their lawyers.

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What next?

Clase and Ortiz were charged with wire fraud, money laundering and bribery conspiracy counts punishable by decades in prison. They also face possible lifetime bans from MLB. Ortiz, 26, was arrested Sunday at Boston Logan International Airport and was scheduled to make his first court appearance today. Clase was “thought to be in his native Dominican Republic,” the Journal said.

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.