Clase Appears in Federal Court, Released on Bond
Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase pleaded not guilty Thursday to federal charges accusing him of rigging pitches in exchange for bribes.
The 27-year-old All-Star was released on $600,000 bond after appearing in Brooklyn federal court, where he surrendered his passport, agreed to GPS monitoring, and was ordered to stay within New York and Ohio and refrain from gambling.
Clase was arrested earlier in the day at JFK Airport after arriving from the Dominican Republic, prosecutors said.
Allegations: Bribes, Rigged Pitches, and Inside Information
Federal prosecutors allege Clase and teammate Luis Ortiz — who pleaded not guilty a day earlier — accepted thousands of dollars from gamblers in their home country.
The scheme allegedly helped bettors win at least $460,000 on wagers related to pitch speed and first-pitch outcomes.
Prosecutors say Clase began giving inside information in 2023 and later threw intentionally errant pitches, often in the dirt on the first pitch of an at-bat, to guarantee a called ball.
In one cited incident from April, Clase allegedly phoned a bettor moments before taking the mound, after which the bettor won $11,000 on a wager that he would throw a pitch under 97.95 mph.
Ortiz’s Role and MLB’s Investigation
Prosecutors claim Clase recruited Ortiz into the operation and even helped fund certain bets.
Both players have been on non-disciplinary paid leave since July, when MLB first flagged unusual betting patterns during their appearances.
Their defense teams strongly deny wrongdoing. Clase’s attorney emphasized the pitcher voluntarily returned to the U.S. to face charges and “poses no risk of flight.”
Serious Federal Charges, Major MLB Fallout
Clase and Ortiz each face charges including wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery — counts that carry potential sentences of up to 20 years in prison.
In response to the scandal, MLB announced new restrictions on betting markets tied to individual pitches, as professional sports grapple with the surge in gambling-related cases since the 2018 Supreme Court ruling that expanded legal sports betting.
The Clase-Ortiz case follows a series of high-profile investigations, including last month’s arrests involving NBA figures and Mafia-linked gambling operations.
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