A federal judge in New York indicated that the spring fraud trial involving Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, accused of cooperating with sports gamblers to rig bets, will likely be postponed until October. The two pitchers pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to a revised indictment during a hearing in Brooklyn federal court.
Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto maintained the existing May 4 trial date temporarily but signaled that the trial date will probably be moved to the fall in the near future as the legal process unfolds.
No Additional Charges but New Allegations Surface in Revised Indictment
The recently unsealed superseding indictment brought no fresh charges but introduced a third defendant, accused of acting as a middleman between the bettors and Emmanuel Clase. This individual also pleaded not guilty at the hearing.
The original November indictment charged Clase and Ortiz with accepting thousands of dollars in exchange for helping gamblers from the Dominican Republic win at least $460,000. These winnings were based on over 100 in-game prop bets and parlays focused on pitch speed and outcomes. Charges include conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to influence sporting contests.
The updated indictment added new details, including allegations that Clase employed code words such as “rooster” and “chicken” in communications with gamblers pertaining to the pitches he intended to throw.
Specific Instances of Alleged Pitch Signaling and Violations
According to the indictment, before a game against the Cincinnati Reds scheduled for May 18, 2025, Clase received a message instructing him to
“throw a rock at the first rooster in today’s fight,”
to which he replied,
“Yes, of course, that’s an easy toss to that rooster.”
However, Clase did not enter the game and therefore could not carry out the pitch outside the strike zone intended for the first batter he would have faced.
Additionally, one day prior, Clase broke Major League Baseball rules by using his cellphone during a game against the Reds to send signals to gamblers predicting that a pitch would be outside the strike zone. This information helped gamblers win approximately $27,000 from that game.
Guardians Pitchers on Paid Leave as Investigation Continues
Both Clase, the team’s former closer, and Ortiz, a starting pitcher, have been on non-disciplinary paid leave since July. Their teammates have recently begun training camp for the upcoming season, with the team’s home opener set for April 3.
After the hearing, Clase and Ortiz left the courthouse separately without offering any statements. Their attorneys have consistently maintained that their clients never engaged in any collusion with gamblers.
Legal Strategies and Defense Arguments in the Case
Lawyers representing Luis Ortiz have requested a separate trial, arguing that if Emmanuel Clase shared Ortiz’s pitching strategies with gamblers, he did so without Ortiz’s knowledge. They also emphasized that Ortiz is only suspected of throwing two questionable pitches within a 12-day period, contrasting with Clase’s alleged involvement over many pitches dating back to 2023.
“Mr. Clase may have abused his relationship with Mr. Ortiz as friends and teammates by convincing Mr. Ortiz to throw certain pitches at certain times — ostensibly for baseball reasons as far as Mr. Ortiz was aware,”
lawyers for Ortiz wrote.
They added they might argue to the jury that
“Ortiz as a victim of Mr. Clase’s scheme, rather than a knowing and willing participant.”
Financial Details and Timeline of Alleged Pitch-Rigging Scheme
Emmanuel Clase, a three-time All-Star with a $4.5 million salary in 2025 and part of a $20 million, five-year contract, started providing information to gamblers about his pitches in 2023, prosecutors claim, though payoffs allegedly began only last year. Luis Ortiz, who earned $782,600 in the previous season, is said to have joined the scheme in June 2024.
MLB and Guardians Cooperate with Federal Investigation
The Cleveland Guardians and Major League Baseball have confirmed their cooperation with the ongoing federal inquiry. MLB officials reported that they alerted federal law enforcement upon discovering suspicious betting activity related to these cases.
