Cleveland Guardians’ standout pitcher Emmanuel Clase was apprehended at John F. Kennedy Airport on Thursday on allegations of receiving bribes to assist bettors in winning wagers on his pitches. The 27-year-old Clase, a revered player with three all-star appearances and two American League reliever of the year awards, was detained upon his arrival from the Dominican Republic. Scheduled for a court appearance in Brooklyn later in the day, Clase’s teammate Luis Ortiz, also involved in the purported scheme, entered a plea of not guilty the day before.
Both players have been on paid leave since July as Major League Baseball probed unusually high betting activity during their games. Prosecutors claim that Clase and Ortiz accepted bribes totaling thousands of dollars to aid two unidentified gamblers in the Dominican Republic in winning over $460,000 from bets placed on the speed and results of their pitches. Allegedly, Clase began sharing pitch information with the bettors in 2023 but only started asking for payoffs earlier this year. Prosecutors assert that Clase deliberately threw manipulated pitches, often on the first throw of an at-bat, ensuring the ball landed outside the strike zone to elicit a ball call from the umpire.
In a specific instance during a game against the Boston Red Sox in April, Clase purportedly conversed with a bettor by phone before entering the game, resulting in the bettor and associates winning $11,000 on a wager regarding Clase’s pitch speed. Prosecutors suggest that Clase enlisted Ortiz into the scheme and occasionally provided funds to the gamblers for betting purposes. Clase’s attorney, Michael Ferrara, maintains his client’s innocence, emphasizing Clase’s dedication to baseball and team success. Likewise, Ortiz’s lawyer, Chris Georgalis, refutes the accusations, claiming the payments between Ortiz and individuals in the Dominican Republic were for legitimate endeavors.
Clase and Ortiz face charges including wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and conspiracy to influence sporting events through bribery, with potential penalties of up to 20 years in prison for the most severe charges. Following the indictments, Major League Baseball implemented restrictions on betting on individual pitches. These incidents mark the latest in a series of gambling scandals affecting American professional sports post the legalization of sports betting by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018. In a related development, notable figures, including Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, were recently detained in a gambling investigation involving insider information on NBA players and rigged poker games linked to organized crime families.