These are serious allegations Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, both major league pitchers for the Cleveland Guardians. If convicted on all counts of fraud, conspiracy, and bribery, they may be sentenced to 65 years in prison. Local authorities made the indictment public just weeks ago. It is still a relatively small piece of a larger probe into suspicious betting activity surrounding MLB games.
Prosecutors say Ortiz was paid $5,000 to throw the ball on purpose in a match-up on June 15. The previous season, Ortiz made a well-deserved $782,600. At the same time, Clase, perhaps the league’s best closer, earned a whopping $4.5 million. Their investigation into their own actions began last July. Both players were immediately put on paid leave due to their alleged roles in a conspiracy to fix pitches in game.
The consequences for Clase and Ortiz are dire. Allegations claim they each received $7,000 for throwing the game on June 27. According to the New York Times, MLB began its investigation following suspicious betting activity associated with games started by Clase and Ortiz.
“We are aware of the recent law enforcement action,” said a spokesperson for the Guardians. “We will continue to fully cooperate with both law enforcement and Major League Baseball as their investigations continue.”
The MLB weighed in too, after the recent developments began to unfold.
“MLB contacted federal law enforcement at the outset of its investigation and has fully cooperated throughout the process. We are aware of the indictment and today’s arrest, and our investigation is ongoing.” – Major League Baseball
The allegations against Clase and Ortiz have many in the baseball community up in arms. This single incident illustrates a greater and more concerning crisis over illegal sports betting in the United States. The integrity of the game is now under scrutiny with authorities still probing the possibility of corruption.
Just as these allegations develop, each player sits on paid leave. In the meantime, the Guardians and MLB are working with law enforcement to continue collecting evidence. The multi-state criminal investigation is providing new insight into the wretched pitch-rigging scheme. These incriminating findings might call the scheme’s impact on betting results into question.