Cleveland Guardians All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase led Major League Baseball with 47 saves during the 2024 season, earning his second AL Reliever of the Year Award. New documents in the federal gambling investigation into him allege he rigged pitches in even more games than initially suspected.
According to documents obtained by ESPN, the attorney for Guardians reliever and alleged co-conspirator Luis Ortiz accuses Clase of “manipulating his performance” in 48 games.
Ortiz, 27, landed on MLB’s non-disciplinary paid leave list as part of an ongoing investigation into gambling-related activities. At the time, The Athletic reported that the Guardians’ reliever was flagged for a higher-than-usual amount of bets placed on two specific pitches. The first occurred in the second inning against the Seattle Mariners on June 15, and the second was the first pitch in the third inning of a June 27 game versus the St. Louis Cardinals. In both cases, the pitches were well outside the strike zone. On July 18, MLB extended Ortiz’s paid leave through August 31.
The 27-year-old’s attorney, Christos N. Georgalis, seeks to have Ortiz’s case severed from the federal case against Clase. This is because, per the filing, Clase and Ortiz have “markedly different levels of culpability,” and the attorney believes a fair trial would not be possible otherwise.
- Emmanuel Clase contract (Spotrac): $4.9 million salary (2025), $6.4 million salary (2026), $10 million club options (2027-’28)
Clase is alleged to have conspired with bettors across the 2023-25 MLB season. The allegations would suggest that the All-Star closer fixed some of his pitches in a quarter of his games over the three-year span.
“[Clase] has identified at least 250 pitches on which bets were placed, so the Court encouraged the government to disclose discovery to [Clase] as to any additional pitches that it alleges were included in the conspiracy.”
Court proceeding on Emmanuel Clase’s alleged involvement in rigging pitches across three MLB seasons
Clase and Ortiz are accused by prosecutors of accepting thousands of dollars in bribes to help two gamblers in the Dominican Republic win more than $450,000 on prop bets regarding the speed and outcome of the pitches thrown by the two relievers.
While MLB players are permitted to bet on sports other than baseball, Rule 21(a) in the MLB rulebook states that any player or person connected with a club who “fails to give his best efforts towards the winning of any baseball game with which he is or may be in any way concerned” shall be declared permanently ineligible. If MLB’s investigation finds that a pitcher intentionally threw a pitch to influence a prop bet, that would be a direct violation of Rule 21.
