Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz have been indicted

Bluehorseshoe · 11-09-25, 04:48 PM

The indictment chronicles specific instances in which the pitchers are alleged to have manipulated outcomes in collaboration with bettors:

On or around May 19, 2023: Bettors allegedly made roughly $27,000 on a Clase pitch that was faster than 94.95 mph.
On or around June 3, 2023: Bettors allegedly made roughly $38,000 on a Clase pitch that was slower than 94.95 mph and called a ball.
On or around June 7, 2023: Bettors allegedly made roughly $68,000 on a Clase pitch that was slower than 94.95 and called a ball.
On or around April 12, 2025: Bettors allegedly won $15,000 on a Clase pitch that was slower than 98.45 mph and called a ball. The next day, Clase is alleged to have asked one of the co-conspiring bettors to who won money on the April 12 pitch to "send some of it to DR," seemingly referring to Clase's home country of the Dominican Republic, "for repairs at the country house."
April 26, 2025: Bettors allegedly won approximately $11,000 on a Clase pitch that was clocked slower than 97.95 mph.
May 11, 2025: Bettors allegedly won approximately $11,000 on a Clase pitch that was called a ball.
May 13, 2025: Bettors allegedly won approximately $3,500 on a Clase pitch that was a ball and was slower than 99.45 mph.
May 17, 2025: This is one of the games in which Clase is alleged to have used his cell phone to coordinate with one or more bettors during the game. Bettors on this date are alleged to have won roughly $10,000 on a Clase pitch that was clocked slower then 97.95 mph and called a ball.
On or about May 20, 2025: Clase is alleged to have directed a co-conspiring bettor to communicate with an associate, who subsequently directed the bettor to send $2,000 to an individual in the Dominican Republic.
On or about May 28, 2025: Bettors wagered roughly $4,000 that a specific pitch by Clase would be a ball. The pitch did indeed appear to be out of the strike zone, but the batter swung and missed for a strike. The indictment reads: "Approximately 20 minutes after Bettor-I lost the wager on May 28, 2025, Bettor-I sent a text message to the defendant EMMANUEL CLASE DE LA CRUZ-a .gif image of a man hanging himself with toilet paper. Even though the Cleveland Guardians won the game, approximately 10 minutes later, CLASE responded to Bettor-I with a .gif image of a sad puppy dog face."

Ortiz is alleged to have joined Clase's scheme in June of 2025. Some of Ortiz's specific actions highlighted by the debate include:

On or about June 15, 2025: Ortiz is alleged to have agreed to throw his first pitch of the second inning for a ball in exchange for $5,000 from Clase. This made approximately $26,000 for two co-conspiring bettors.
On or about June 27, 2025: Ortiz agreed to throw his first pitch of the third inning for a ball in exchange for approximately $7,000. Bettors are alleged to have made about $37,000 off the pitch.

stevenash · 11-09-25, 05:26 PM

^
It was a matter of time before the feds dropped the hammer.

Assinine how these guys will sacrifice hundreds of thousands of guaranteed money for illegal chump change.
Unfathomable.

stevenash · 11-09-25, 05:33 PM

The SBR baseball savants were on this months ago.

Post #27
MLB Trade deadline Unofficial Official Watch Thread - Sportsbook Review Forum

Madison · 11-10-25, 02:58 PM

They should indite the morons betting on pitches as well as the players making millions and fixing pitches for 5k or whatever. What a joke where the sites promote/require that you don't need GA but allow you to bet on pitches.

Bluehorseshoe · 11-10-25, 05:28 PM

Prominent U.S. sportsbooks are establishing a nationwide $200 betting limit on baseball wagers centered on individual pitches and prohibiting such bets from being included in parlays in an attempt to decrease the incentive for manipulation, Major League Baseball announced Monday.

MLB has been in discussions with its authorized sportsbook partners about potential changes to betting menus and limits since the summer, after unusual wagering was detected on individual pitches by Cleveland Guardians starter Luis Ortiz in a pair of June games.
On Sunday, federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment that charged Ortiz and Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase for their alleged roles in a gambling scheme centered on whether individual pitches would be balls or strikes as well as the over/under on the velocity of some pitches. According to the indictment, gamblers won approximately $450,000 on bets on individual pitches during the alleged scheme.

MLB said reducing the amount bettors can win on such markets will disincentivize attempts at manipulation. Baseball has worked with the sportsbook industry over the past seven years to "uphold our most important priority: protecting the integrity of our games for the fans," MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said.

"I commend the industry for working with us to take action on a national solution to address the risks posed by these pitch-level markets, which are particularly vulnerable to integrity concerns," Manfred said, adding that he had received guidance on the issue from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.

DeWine called for a ban on such micro-proposition bets after MLB launched its investigation in July into the suspicious betting activity on Ortiz and Clase.

"By limiting the ability to place large wagers on micro-prop bets, Major League Baseball is taking affirmative steps to protect the integrity of the game and reduce the incentives to participate in improper betting schemes," DeWine said in the release. "I urge other sports leagues to follow Major League Baseball's example with similar action."

DraftKings and FanDuel, the two largest sportsbook operators, said they have agreed to adjust their baseball betting menus to abide by MLB's requests and believe the legal market's ability to detect bad actors will act as a deterrent to combat future issues.

"In collaboration with Major League Baseball, we have adjusted certain bet types to further deter bad actors while helping maintain fairness and trust in the game," a DraftKings spokesperson told ESPN.

FanDuel president Christian Genetski said the legal betting industry will continue to collaborate with sports leagues and take steps to combat corruption.

"This initiative illustrates our unwavering commitment to building a legal and regulated market that roots out abuses by those who seek to undermine fair competition and damage the integrity of the games we love," Genetski said. Sponsored
You May L

stevenash · 11-11-25, 12:55 PM

MLB and its authorized sportsbooks announce limits on pitch wagers, citing fear of abuse

College player props are coming next.