Guardians' Luis Ortiz pleads not guilty to charges of accepting bribes to help gamblers

Cleveland Guardians’ pitcher Luis Ortiz pleaded not blameworthy to charges of taking bribes successful speech for ensuring gamblers won bets connected his pitches.

Ortiz, 26, appeared successful Brooklyn national tribunal connected Wednesday aft being arrested Sunday astatine Logan International Airport successful Boston.

Ortiz has been released connected a $500,000 enslaved until his adjacent tribunal day successful December. He is taxable to GPS monitoring and was ordered to bounds his question to New York, Massachusetts and Ohio.

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Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Luis Ortiz (45) celebrates during the 5th inning against the Los Angeles Angels astatine Progressive Field connected May 30, 2025. (Ken Blaze/Imagn Images)

His Guardians teammate Emmanuel Clase has besides been charged successful the alleged scheme.

Clase volition beryllium arraigned astatine the aforesaid courthouse Thursday.

"Emmanuel Clase has devoted his beingness to shot and doing everything successful his powerfulness to assistance his squad win," Clase's lawyer Michael Ferrara said successful an emailed connection Wednesday.

MLB placed Ortiz and Clase connected non-disciplinary paid permission owed to a gambling probe connected July 3. When Fox News Digital reached retired for an update connected the probe connected Oct. 22, MLB directed Fox News Digital to an August statement.

"MLB contacted national instrumentality enforcement astatine the outset of its probe and has afloat cooperated passim the process. We are alert of the indictment and today's arrest, and our probe is ongoing," MLB’s connection connected Sunday read.

Clase and Ortiz "conspired with bettors to rig pitches successful nonrecreational shot games truthful that the bettors would nett from amerciable wagers made based connected that wrong information," the indictment read. "The defendants agreed successful beforehand with their co-conspirators to propulsion circumstantial types and speeds of pitchers, and their co-conspirators utilized that wrong accusation to spot wagers connected those pitches.

"In immoderate instances, the defendants received bribes and kickback payments – funneled done 3rd parties – successful speech for rigging pitches. Through this scheme, the defendants defrauded betting platforms, deprived Major League Baseball and the Cleveland Guardians of their honorable services, illegally enriched themselves and their co-conspirators, misled the nationalist and betrayed America’s past time."

GUARDIANS PITCHERS INDICTED IN GAMBLING SCHEME INVOLVING MLB GAMES

Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz stay connected permission amid a gambling probe arsenic the World Series approaches. (David Dermer and Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn)

Officials said successful the indictment that from May 2023 to June 2025 Clase agreed with 1 co-conspirator to "throw circumstantial pitches successful definite MLB games" truthful that the bettors they were allegedly partnered with "would nett from amerciable wagers made based connected that wrong information." Ortiz allegedly joined the strategy successful June 2025.

The indictment said Clase conferred with 1 bettor propulsion a shot connected the archetypal transportation of an at-bat erstwhile helium was brought into games successful relief. The indictment pointed to instances successful the pursuing games, including May 19, 2023, vs. the New York Mets, June 2, 2023, vs. the Minnesota Twins and June 7, 2023, vs. the Boston Red Sox.

Clase allegedly began to petition and person bribes and kickback payments for agreeing to propulsion the circumstantial pitches successful April, according to the indictment. In 1 instance, the indictment said Clase utilized his telephone successful the mediate of a crippled to coordinate with a bettor connected a transportation helium would throw.

Bettors allegedly won $400,000 from betting platforms connected pitchers thrown by Clase betwixt 2023 and 2025.

When Ortiz allegedly joined the scheme, the indictment said helium agreed to propulsion balls implicit strikes connected definite pitches successful speech for bribes oregon kickbacks. He allegedly agreed to propulsion a shot connected June 15 against the Seattle Mariners for astir $5,000 successful his archetypal transportation successful the 2nd inning.

The indictment said Ortiz agreed to propulsion a shot successful his archetypal transportation of the 3rd inning connected June 27 against the St. Louis Cardinals for $7,000.

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Cleveland Guardians' Luis Ortiz pitches successful the archetypal inning of a shot crippled against the Minnesota Twins successful Cleveland, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, file)

In June 2025, bettors won astatine slightest $60,000 connected pitches thrown by Ortiz.

The indictment announcement came weeks aft 3 NBA figures were swept up successful an FBI cognition involving amerciable gambling. Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier and Damon Jones were among the much than 2 twelve arrested successful the scheme.

Fox News Digital's Ryan Gaydos and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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