**Two Cleveland Guardians Pitchers Indicted for Rigging Pitches in Illegal Betting Scheme**

*Nov. 9 (UPI)* — Emmanuel Clase de la Cruz and Luis Leandro Ortiz Ribera, two pitchers for the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball, were indicted Sunday for accepting bribes in exchange for throwing rigged pitches, allowing bettors to profit from illegal information.

Federal prosecutors announced that Ortiz, 26, was arrested Sunday in Boston, Massachusetts, while Clase, 27, was already in police custody. The grand jury indictment, unsealed Sunday at a Brooklyn courthouse, charges both pitchers with honest services wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery, and money-laundering conspiracy.

“Integrity, honesty and fair play are part of the DNA of professional sports. When corruption infiltrates the sport, it brings disgrace not only to the participants but damages the public trust in an institution that is vital and dear to all of us,” said U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella Jr. in a statement announcing the indictment.

According to federal prosecutors, the conspiracy began around May 2023 when Clase, a relief pitcher, agreed with bettors to rig so-called prop bets on the pitches he threw. Ortiz allegedly joined the scheme the following month, in June.

The indictment mentions at least two bettors involved in the conspiracy who reportedly used two online betting platforms to place illegal wagers.

Details from the court document reveal that Clase agreed with a person identified as Bettor-1 around May 2023 to throw specific pitches—often balls and slower sliders—on his first pitches when entering a game as a reliever. In one example, Clase allegedly threw a pitch slower than 94-95 mph into the dirt well before home plate. Bettor-1 and others reportedly won about $38,000 from that pitch.

In another incident, in late June 2025, after Ortiz joined the conspiracy, he reportedly agreed to throw a rigged pitch in exchange for $7,000. Clase was allegedly paid $7,000 as well for arranging the interaction. The pitch was to be thrown during a June 27 game. Prior to that game, Ortiz allegedly withdrew $50,000 in cash, of which $15,000 was provided to an unnamed co-conspirator who bet on the rigged pitch.

If convicted, each defendant faces severe penalties including up to 20 years imprisonment for honest services wire fraud conspiracy, five years for conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery, and another 20 years for money laundering.

Ortiz is scheduled to be arraigned in the Eastern District Court of New York at a later date.

Clase is currently entering the fourth year of his five-year, $20 million contract with the Guardians, which he signed in 2022 and runs through 2026.

This indictment comes amid heightened scrutiny and legal action targeting illegal gambling in professional and amateur sports. Just last Friday, the NCAA stripped eligibility from six former men’s basketball players due to betting-related game manipulation.

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*Stay tuned for further updates on this developing story.*
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2025/11/09/MLB-pitches-charged-pitch-rigging/7661762744164/