Emmanuel Clase
Introduction
Emmanuel Clase, the three-time All-Star closer of the Cleveland Guardians, became the central figure in a major gambling scandal when he and teammate Luis Ortiz were federally indicted in November 2025 on charges that they took bribes from sports bettors to rig pitches during games. The indictment, unsealed November 9, 2025 in Brooklyn federal court, alleged that the two pitchers helped two unnamed gamblers from their native Dominican Republic win at least $460,000 on in-game prop bets. Clase and Ortiz are charged, not convicted; Clase has pleaded not guilty, and his fraud trial began in Brooklyn federal court on November 2, 2026.
Background Information
Clase was born March 18, 1998, in Río San Juan, Dominican Republic, and signed with the San Diego Padres as an international free agent in 2015. He made his MLB debut in 2019 with the Texas Rangers and was traded to Cleveland after that season, becoming the team’s main closer in 2021.
With Cleveland, Clase became one of baseball’s premier relievers: a three-time All-Star (2022–2024), a two-time American League Reliever of the Year, and the AL saves leader three straight seasons (2022–2024). In August 2024 he passed Cody Allen to become Cleveland’s all-time save leader. Before being placed on leave, Clase posted a 3.23 ERA in 48 games with 23 saves during the 2025 season.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Allegations. The claims in this section are allegations from federal prosecutors in an indictment. Emmanuel Clase has been charged but not tried: he pleaded not guilty and is presumed innocent, and his trial is underway with nothing yet adjudicated.
On July 28, 2025, Clase was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave amid an MLB investigation into sports betting, following Ortiz, who had been pulled from Cleveland’s lineup on July 13. MLB said it was investigating unusually high in-game betting activity during games in which they pitched. Neither pitched again that season, and after the season ended the Dominican Professional Baseball League declined to let Clase play there while the investigation was active.
On November 9, 2025, federal prosecutors indicted both pitchers on charges including wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery; the top charges carry penalties of up to 20 years in prison, and a conviction on all counts could bring a maximum of 65 years. The indictment alleged that Clase and Ortiz took thousands of dollars in payoffs from two unnamed gamblers from the Dominican Republic in exchange for throwing certain types of pitches, including intentionally tossing balls in the dirt instead of strikes, to help the bettors win wagers on the speed and outcome of specific pitches.
According to the indictment, Clase’s alleged involvement dated back to May 2023, when prosecutors said he began providing bettors with information about his pitches but did not ask for payoffs until 2025. In one example, Clase allegedly spoke by phone with a bettor just before taking the mound against the Red Sox, after which the bettor and his associates won $11,000 on a wager that Clase would throw a pitch slower than 97.95 mph.
At trial, prosecutors have zeroed in on 18 pitches thrown from 2023 through 2025 in which they charge Clase provided advance information about his intentions — pitches typically delivered far outside the strike zone or with a predetermined speed. During a May 19, 2023 game against the Mets at Citi Field, bettors allegedly won approximately $27,000 by wagering that a pitch thrown by Clase would be faster than 94.95 mph. In text messages with bettors, prosecutors say Clase used code words such as “rooster” and “chicken”; one bettor said in a court document that those conversations were about cockfighting, which is legal in Clase and Ortiz’s native Dominican Republic. Clase’s lawyers are expected to argue that the contested pitches served strategic purposes and that the bets placed fell within normal ranges; in a September court filing they wrote, “In isolation, any single pitch in the dirt can be painted as nefarious,” and a defense brief cited former Astros assistant GM Scott Powers arguing that “there are baseball reasons for Clase to aim his pitches outside the strike zone.”
The trial’s first insider account of the alleged scheme came on Friday, November 6, when Luis de Aza Baez, an Uber driver, testified per ESPN’s report of the proceedings that starting in 2023 he received information about Clase’s pitches from the closer’s associate, Enoc Pena, through a group chat titled “Uber Inc.” that included other drivers — and that when he sought the same tips during the 2024 season, he was told that “what was going on with Ohtani, there was no more information like that,” as the inside information dried up amid the gambling scandal surrounding Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter. De Aza Baez testified that Pena and co-defendant Robinson Vasquez Germosen introduced him to Clase at a birthday party on April 28, 2023, that Clase never provided him information directly, and that he “almost always” won betting on the reliever’s pitches; he said he agreed with the government to forfeit $69,000 in winnings tied to Clase’s performances in exchange for prosecutors dropping a related wire fraud charge and his pledge to “tell the truth.” All three defendants — Clase, Ortiz, and Vasquez — have pleaded not guilty to every charge, and Vasquez’s attorney, Todd Spodek, said after the testimony, “Our defense is the same today as it was in opening: This is a case about big talk and small bets,” adding, “We’re confident leaving that judgment to the jury.”
Clase was arrested by FBI agents at JFK Airport on November 13, 2025, and arraigned in a Brooklyn federal court hours later, where he pleaded not guilty. Ortiz had been arrested by the FBI at Boston Logan International Airport the same day the indictment was unsealed. U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said the pitchers “betrayed America’s pastime,” adding, “Integrity, honesty and fair play are part of the DNA of professional sports.” Ortiz’s lawyer, Chris Georgalis, said his client “has never, and would never, improperly influence a game — not for anyone and not for anything,” while a lawyer for Clase did not respond to requests for comment.
Public Reaction and Consequences
The charges resonated beyond baseball, arriving weeks after more than 30 people, including prominent NBA figures Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier, were arrested in a gambling sweep. MLB said it had contacted federal law enforcement at the outset of its investigation and had fully cooperated, while the Guardians said they would continue to fully cooperate with both law enforcement and the league. In the aftermath of the indictment, MLB announced that, in conjunction with authorized gaming operations, it would cap micro-betting on pitch-level markets at $200 and exclude those prop bets from parlays.
The immediate consequence for Clase was the interruption of his career at its peak. He spent the rest of the 2025 season on paid leave, and in March 2026 the paid arrangement gave way to unpaid leave as the case moved toward trial. His contract status left his future with the team unclear.
Current Status
On March 20, 2026, with the MLB regular season about to begin, MLB and the MLB Players Association shifted Clase and Ortiz from paid leave to unpaid non-disciplinary leave until further notice. “This agreement is not an admission of any wrongdoing by Clase or Ortiz,” MLB said. Clase, 28, had completed the fourth season of a five-year, $20 million contract when the charges were revealed in November 2025; he had been due $6.4 million for the 2025 season before the leave suspended his pay.
The trial began Monday, November 2, 2026, with jury selection before Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto in Brooklyn federal court, who said she hoped to complete jury selection quickly enough for lawyers to deliver relatively short opening statements that afternoon. Among the potential witnesses listed in a court filing are Guardians general manager Mike Chernoff, pitching coach Carl Willis, and catchers Austin Hedges, Mike Zunino and Bo Naylor. On the Friday before jury selection, Matsumoto ruled that prosecutors cannot show the jury proof that Clase owed $500,000 in U.S. taxes because the evidence had been turned over to defense lawyers only days earlier, long after the deadline; a prosecutor had argued it was needed to offset any claim that Clase, who had several million dollars in financial accounts in the Dominican Republic, had no incentive to collude with gamblers. Testimony has since begun: on Friday, November 6, the government’s witness described the alleged tip flow behind the betting (see above), and the federal trial continues Thursday in Brooklyn. Nothing has been adjudicated: Clase remains charged, not convicted, and presumed innocent.
Impact on Their Career/Life
The allegations struck at the foundation of Clase’s career. Regarded as the best closer in baseball after a 2024 season with a 0.61 ERA and an AL-leading 47 saves, Clase saw his 2025 campaign end in July and his 2026 season erased by unpaid leave before it began.
The case also carried broader implications for a sport already grappling with a federal crackdown on betting, which had produced a lifetime ban for San Diego infielder Tucupita Marcano. The outcome of the trial now underway will determine not only whether Clase is convicted but also whether he ever returns to the mound for the Guardians. Clase remains presumed innocent until proven guilty, and until the trial resolves the charges he denies, one of the most decorated relief pitchers of his era stands before a federal jury.
Sources
- NPR, “Cleveland Guardians’ Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz charged with pitch rigging,” November 9, 2025 — source
- Sports Illustrated, “Guardians’ Emmanuel Clase, Luis Ortiz Indicted on Charges Related to Pitch Betting Scheme,” November 9, 2025 — source
- Wikipedia, “Emmanuel Clase,” accessed November 3, 2026 — source
- New York Post, “Trial begins for Guardians pitchers accused of pitch-rigging gambling scheme,” November 2, 2026 — source
- New York Post, “Witness in MLB pitch rigging case stopped getting info after Shohei Ohtani interpreter scandal,” November 6, 2026 — source
- theScore (AP), “Ex-Guardians pitchers Clase, Ortiz go to trial on fraud charges,” November 2, 2026 — source
- Fox News, “Emmanuel Clase, Luis Ortiz moved to unpaid leave as they await gambling trial,” March 20, 2026 — source