Trial Opens for Two Former Guardians Pitchers Charged in Pitch-Rigging Betting Scheme: Jury Selection Under Way, Month-Long Trial Expected
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Brooklyn, in Kings County, New York, is one of New York City's five boroughs. On November 2, Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz went on trial at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn on charges that they rigged pitches to help gamblers bet profitably. According to the Associated Press, the two arrived in court in the morning and jury selection got under way; the trial is expected to last about a month, and several professional baseball players, including catchers, as well as baseball executives are expected to testify.
According to the AP, Clase, the Guardians' former closer, and Ortiz, a starter, have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy charges and are on non-disciplinary leave from the club without pay, with their careers and possibly their freedom at stake. The indictment alleges the pitchers accepted several thousand dollars in payoffs to help two gamblers from their native Dominican Republic win at least $460,000 on in-game prop bets on the speed and outcome of certain pitches.
Prosecutors allege Clase began providing bettors with information about his pitches in 2023 and recruited Ortiz into the scheme in 2025; Ortiz's lawyers unsuccessfully sought to have him tried separately from Clase. According to the AP, defense lawyers are expected to argue that the pitchers did not collude with gamblers and instead varied pitch placement strategically to fool batters.
The charges were first announced by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York in November 2025. The indictment charges both men with four conspiracies: wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery, and money laundering conspiracy. It alleges that Clase, by rigging pitches, caused his co-conspirator bettors to win at least $400,000, and that Ortiz agreed to throw balls on designated pitches in two games in June 2025, with bettors agreeing to pay Ortiz a $5,000 bribe and Clase $5,000 for arranging the first rigged pitch on June 15, and a $7,000 bribe for the second on June 27. Announcing the indictment, U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr. said: 'As alleged, the defendants sold that trust to gamblers by fixing pitches.'
According to the AP, Clase, 28, is a three-time All-Star and two-time American League Reliever of the Year who had completed the fourth season of a $20 million, five-year contract when the charges were revealed in November 2025; Ortiz, 27, earned $782,600 as a Guardians starter in the 2025 season. On Friday, Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto ruled that prosecutors cannot show the jury proof that Clase owed $500,000 in U.S. taxes, because they provided the evidence to defense lawyers several days earlier and long after the deadline to turn over evidence had passed. (Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于纽约 Brooklyn 的美国联邦法院大楼（纽约东区），本案在此审理。Ajay Suresh 摄，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The U.S. Courthouse for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn, where the case is being tried. By Ajay Suresh, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
