As they await trial for an alleged pitch-rigging scheme, Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were transferred to unpaid non-disciplinary leave Friday following an agreement between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association.
Previously, the pitchers were on paid non-disciplinary leave. They have pleaded not guilty to multiple conspiracy charges for allegedly receiving money to throw pitches for balls intentionally to benefit gamblers who wagered on individual pitches being balls or strikes.
“As the legal proceedings involving Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz continue to move forward, MLB and the MLBPA have agreed that both players will remain on non-disciplinary leave from the Club without pay until further notice,” MLB said in a statement. “This agreement is not an admission of any wrongdoing by Clase or Ortiz. MLB has been closely monitoring the matter since alerting federal law enforcement at the outset of its investigation and will have no further comment until its investigation has been completed.”
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With cases in which legal proceedings are not completed, MLB typically avoids issuing discipline in the form of suspensions or bans. The move from paid to unpaid leave, however, comes in the wake of the evidence thus far presented in the Eastern District of New York’s case against the two.
Clase, 28, and Ortiz, 27, pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to influence sporting events by bribery. The top charges carry a potential punishment of up to 20 years in prison. Their trial is scheduled for the fall, with jury selection beginning Nov. 2.
In the initial indictment, unsealed last November, federal prosecutors alleged that Clase threw rigged pitches in nine games. Ortiz’s attorney wrote in a February filing, however, that the government is accusing Clase of manipulating his performance in at least 48 games, beginning in the 2023 through the 2025 season.
In a separate court hearing, attorneys for Clase said they had identified “at least 250 pitches on which bets were placed” and asked the government to disclose discovery on any additional pitches alleged to be part of the conspiracy.
The allegations against Clase and Ortiz led to MLB requesting that sportsbooks place restrictions on betting markets involving individual pitches. In an effort to disincentivize similar schemes, MLB asked that betting limits on individual pitches be capped at $200 and that those types of wagers be prohibited from being included in parlays to prevent escalated payouts.
ESPN’s David Purdum contributed to this report.
