A federal court in Brooklyn has begun hearing the case against Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, with jury selection starting on November 2, 2026. Both are charged with conspiring with bettors who won hundreds of thousands of dollars on individual pitches.
The indictment was unsealed on November 9, 2025. Ortiz was arrested in Boston, while Clase was not in U.S. custody. Three of the four counts carry a maximum of 20 years, and the sports bribery count carries five years.
According to the indictment, bettors won at least $450,000 on pitches thrown by the two pitchers. The Associated Press, citing the indictment, puts the figure at at least $460,000. The pitchers received several thousand dollars for the pitches.
Clase finished the fourth season of a five-year, $20 million contract, which averages $4 million a year. The $400,000 tied to his pitches amounts to about 10% of that salary.
Betting platforms flagged the scheme. They noticed an unusually large volume of bets on Ortiz's first pitch in the June 15, 2025 game. For bookmakers, that means the anomaly is visible at the level of a single pitch.
Both have pleaded not guilty. The defense intends to prove that the pitches were varied to deceive hitters. Judge Kiyo Matsumoto barred evidence of Clase's alleged tax evasion because prosecutors disclosed it too late.
The league has responded to similar cases before. In June 2024, MLB suspended five players and gave Tucupita Marcano a lifetime ban over 387 bets worth more than $150,000 placed with a legal sportsbook.
The trial is expected to last about a month. At that pace, a verdict is expected in early December, and it will determine whether the pitchers keep their careers and whether prison is on the table.
