MLB Pitchers Federally Indicted For Betting And Kickbacks

And now it is Major League Baseball’s turn to have a gambling scandal, as two MLB pitchers are now under federal indictment.

This story broke back in July, when two pitchers for the Cleveland Guardians, Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, were both accused of being involved in rigging pitches during games in order to win gambling bets. Both players were placed by MLB on “non-disciplinary paid leave” in July while the allegations were investigated. The leave was extended indefinitely at the end of August, no doubt to the consternation of the Cleveland Guardians, who managed to snag the American League Central championship, but ended up losing to their division rival, the Detroit Tigers, in the wild card playoff round. Clase was an All Star player, and played a huge role in their bullpen. It’s hard to imagine that he would risk all of that to win kickbacks off prop bets – but that is exactly what he, along with his teammate Ortiz, is alleged to have done.

The federal indictment was unsealed Sunday afternoon, and if convicted, a lifetime ban from MLB is the least of their concerns, as both men could face decades in prison.

Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, an indictment was unsealed charging two defendants, Emmanuel Clase de la Cruz and Luis Leandro Ortiz Ribera, with wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery, and money laundering conspiracy, for their alleged roles in a scheme to rig bets on pitches thrown during Major League Baseball (MLB) games. Ortiz was arrested earlier today in Boston, Massachusetts, and will make an initial appearance in federal court in Boston, Massachusetts on November 10, 2025. Ortiz will be arraigned in the Eastern District of New York at a later date. Clase is currently not in U.S. custody.