Wednesday, 25 Mar 2026

Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase, Luis Ortiz no longer getting paid as they await gambling trial: report

Major League Baseball shifted Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz to unpaid leave pending their trial for alleged involvement in a pitch-rigging scheme.


Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase, Luis Ortiz no longer getting paid as they await gambling trial: report

"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," MLB said, adding the shift came through an agreement between the league and the players' association.

In one instance, the indictment alleges, Clase used his phone in the middle of a game to coordinate with a bettor on a pitch he would throw.

Bettors allegedly won $400,000 from betting platforms on pitches thrown by Clase between 2023 and 2025. Ortiz allegedly joined the scheme in June 2025.

Clase turned himself into arguably the game's best closer, pitching to a 1.21 ERA in his last full season in 2024, which was good for a third-place finish in the American League Cy Young Award vote. His 2025 ERA was 3.80 by the time he was investigated. Ortiz boasts a lifetime 4.36 ERA, with his best season also coming in 2024 with a 3.32 ERA.

Clase inked a five-year, $20 million deal just before opening day in 2022, a few months after finishing fifth in the AL Rookie of the Year voting. Ortiz was making the veteran minimum of $782,600 last season because he was not yet arbitration eligible.

Fox News' Ryan Gaydos and Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.

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