Although federal prosecutors alleged that Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase was involved in an illegal sports betting operation, things didn’t always go according to plan.
Clase, along with fellow pitcher Luis Ortiz, were indicted on Sunday, with prosecutors alleging that Clase and Ortiz “arranged in advance with their co-conspirators on specific pitches that they would call MLB games,” who in turn, their co-conspirators “then used that information to place hundreds of fraudulent bets on those pitches.”
However, according to the indictment, Clase’s plan went wrong in one instance on May 28, 2025, when a batter swung at a pitch that the Cleveland pitcher allegedly threw out of the strike zone on purpose, costing Clase and the gamblers money.
The Guardians were playing the Dodgers and after confirming via text message that he was all set to participate in the plan that day, the Dodgers player batting, Andy Pages, waved to the pitch which was low and outside the strike zone.
The indictment alleged that Clase and the gamblers wagered a total of approximately $4,000 that the first pitch thrown would be a ball or a hit pitch.
“Approximately 20 minutes after Bettor-1 lost the bet on May 28, 2025, Bettor-1 sent a text message to Defendant EMMANUEL CLASE DE LA CRUZ with a GIF image of a man hanging himself with toilet paper,” the complaint said. “Although the Cleveland Guardians won the game, about 10 minutes later CLASE responded to Bettor-1 with a GIF image of a sad puppy dog’s face.”
Clase has not yet been arrested following the unveiling of the charges on Sunday, and it is alleged that he started manipulating prop bets around May 2023, while Ortiz is said to have become involved in June 2025.
The pair are facing wire fraud conspiracy, honest services conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sports competitions by bribery and money laundering charges.
Ortiz’s attorney, Chris Georgalis, issued a statement denying that his client had done anything wrong and said Ortiz “has never inappropriately influenced a game and never would.”
“There is no credible evidence that Luis knowingly did anything other than try to win games, with every pitch and in every inning. Luis looks forward to fighting this charge in court,” Georgalis said, according to the Associated Press.
Both players had been placed on non-disciplinary paid leave in July after MLB launched an investigation.
The latest sports betting scandal comes weeks after the NBA was rocked by mob schemes involving a current NBA head coach and player.
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