MLB suspends baseball players Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase for pitch-rigging charges

Cleveland Guardians pitchers Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase, accused at the federal level of manipulating pitches to favor bettors, were suspended Friday without pay and disciplinary action by the Major League Baseball (MLB), according to AFP.

The Dominican right-handed pitchers had already been suspended with pay and without disciplinary action by MLB last July, but were formally charged with conspiracy in November in New York.

Brooklyn prosecutors charged Clase, a 27-year-old closing pitcher, and Ortiz, a 26-year-old starting pitcher, with being part of a scheme with corrupt gamblers who placed hundreds of thousands of dollars in bets on specific pitches. Both pleaded not guilty.

An agreement between Major League Baseball and its players' association will mean the Guardians will no longer have to pay Clase and Ortiz during the season, which begins next week.

The organization cautioned the agreement was not an admission of guilt and refused to provide further comments until the investigation has concluded.

Case details: Rigged pitches and billions of fraudulent dollars

Prosecutors said the pitchers agreed in advance with their accomplices on the specific pitches they would make, and the bettors used that inside information to place hundreds of fraudulent bets.

Clase allegedly agreed to participate in the scheme around May 2023 to manipulate bets on specific pitches, with bets on the speed and type of pitches he would throw, coordinating with Clase at times during games, according to prosecutors.

Clase received kickbacks from bettors for the information and, at times, provided money to fund the scheme, according to the charges. Among the manipulated pitches was one in New York in a game against the Mets. Prosecutors alleged that Clase caused his gambling accomplices to win at least $400,000 in fraudulent bets.

According to the indictments, in June of last year Ortiz joined the conspiracy, agreeing in advance to throw balls instead of strikes on certain pitches in two games in exchange for bribes and kickbacks. Prior to a June 15 game, Ortiz allegedly agreed to throw a ball on a specific pitch in exchange for a $5,000 bribe, while Clase received another $5,000 for arranging the rigged pitch.

Ortiz allegedly agreed to throw another rigged pitch on June 27 in exchange for $7,000 for himself and another $7,000 for Clase. Clase allegedly withdrew $50,000 in cash and gave $15,000 to an accomplice to bet on Ortiz's rigged pitch during the June 27 game, generating at least $60,000 in profits for the conspirators.