Emmanuel Clase pitching the ball | Image Credits: IMAGO/ ZUMA Press Wire
Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase is due in Brooklyn federal court on Thursday to enter a plea to charges accusing him of rigging bets on his pitches during MLB games.
Clase, an MLB All-Star and Cleveland’s all-time saves leader, has denied wrongdoing through his attorney.
His teammate Luis Ortiz was also charged and pleaded not guilty in the case on Wednesday. They each face fraud conspiracy, bribery conspiracy and money laundering charges.
The Guardians and Major League Baseball have said they are cooperating with law enforcement. Clase and Ortiz are currently suspended.
The case is the latest to charge professional athletes with rigging bets on their performance. The rise in such cases has coincided with the explosion of legal sports betting in the U.S. in recent years.
Prosecutors say Clase and Ortiz rigged so-called prop bets on whether specific pitches they threw would be called balls or strikes, in exchange for bribes and kickbacks.
The indictment cites examples of Clase allegedly throwing pitches in the dirt on purpose to ensure they would be called as balls, allowing co-conspirators to win their bets.
Clase started rigging bets in May 2023, and Ortiz joined him around June 2025, according to the indictment.
Clase helped bettors cash at least $400,000 in fraudulent bets, and Ortiz was responsible for $60,000 in illicit winnings, prosecutors said.
Last month, Brooklyn federal prosecutors charged the Miami Heat's Terry Rozier and former Cleveland Cavaliers guard Damon Jones with bet-rigging in National Basketball Association games.
NBA Hall of Famer and Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups was charged in a related case with rigging illegal poker games. Rozier, Jones and Billups have denied wrongdoing through their attorneys.
