Guardians pitchers face federal fraud charges in Brooklyn

Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz began a federal jury trial in Brooklyn on Monday. The two men face charges that they accepted bribes to collude with gamblers who made hundreds of thousands of dollars betting on individual pitches.

Jury selection started after the players arrived in court in the morning. Their careers and potentially their freedom are at stake in the proceedings. The trial is expected to last one month. Several professional baseball players, including catchers and baseball executives, are scheduled to testify as witnesses.

The indictment states that the pitchers accepted several thousand dollars in payoffs. The money helped two gamblers from the Dominican Republic win at least $460,000 on in-game prop bets. These bets targeted the speed and outcome of specific pitches. Clase, who served as the Guardians closer, allegedly began providing bettors with pitch information in 2023. He recruited Ortiz into the scheme in 2025. Ortiz, a starting pitcher, unsuccessfully sought a separate trial from Clase.

Both players have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy charges. They are currently on non-disciplinary leave from the club without pay. Clase, 28, is a three-time All-Star and two-time American League Reliever of the Year. He had completed his fourth season of a five-year contract worth $20 million when the charges were revealed in November 2025. Ortiz, 27, earned $782,600 during the 2025 season.

The pitchers are charged with wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery. Defense lawyers plan to argue that the pitchers did not collude with gamblers. Instead, they claim the players were varying pitch placement strategically to fool batters.

Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto ruled on Friday that prosecutors cannot show the jury proof that Clase owed $500,000 in U.S. taxes. The judge determined the government provided this evidence to defense lawyers several days after the deadline to turn over documents. A prosecutor had argued the evidence was necessary to offset any claim by Clase's lawyers that he had no incentive to collude because he held millions of dollars in financial accounts in the Dominican Republic.

Major League Baseball and the Guardians have stated they have fully cooperated with authorities. MLB said it contacted federal law enforcement after beginning an investigation into unusual betting activity.