Emmanuel Clase pleads not guilty in alleged betting scandal

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Cleveland Guardians star pitcher Emmanuel Claeys pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he accepted bribes to help gamblers win bets on his fields.

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The 27-year-old pitcher was released on $600,000 bail after appearing in federal court in Brooklyn. Claeys also surrendered his passport and was ordered to limit travel to New York and Ohio, refrain from gambling and submit to GPS monitoring.

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The three-time All-Star and two-time American League Runner of the Year was arrested and taken into custody earlier Thursday at John F. Kennedy Airport after arriving on a flight from his native Dominican Republic, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Claeys, dressed in a dark jacket and jeans, did not speak in court other than to answer yes or no questions from the judge through a Spanish interpreter. After the meeting, he did not comment to reporters.

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Clase's Guardians teammate Luis Ortiz, who was also involved in the alleged scheme, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday.

Both pitchers have been on non-disciplinary leave with pay since July, when MLB began investigating what it said was unusually high in-game betting activity during innings.

Prosecutors say the two received thousands of dollars in bribes to help two unnamed gamblers in their native Dominican Republic win at least $460,000 on bets placed on the speed and outcome of their games.

They claim that Claeys, who is in the fourth season of a five-year, $20 million contract, began providing players with information about his pitches in 2023 but did not ask for payments until earlier this year.

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Prosecutors say Claeys often threw rigged pitches on the first pitch of the bat, trying to throw the ball into the dirt and well out of the strike zone so the umpire would call it a ball rather than a strike.

During an April game against the Boston Red Sox, Claise even spoke on the phone with one of the top players just before he took the mound, prosecutors allege. A few minutes later, the player and his partners won $11,000 by betting that Clase would throw a certain pitch slower than 97.95 mph (157.63 km/h).

Prosecutors allege Claeys recruited Ortiz to participate in the scheme earlier this year and sometimes provided gamblers with money to finance bets.

Michael Ferrara, one of Claise's lawyers, said the Guardians' longtime leader maintains his innocence.

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“Emmanuel Claeys dedicated his life to baseball and did everything in his power to help his team win,” Ferrara said in a statement Wednesday.

Chris Georgalis, Ortiz's lawyer, also denied the allegations, saying payments between his client and individuals in the Dominican Republic were for legal work.

Clayes and Ortiz are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, honest services fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to influence athletic competition through bribery. The most serious charges carry penalties of up to 20 years in prison.

Following the pitchers' indictments, Major League Baseball announced new restrictions on betting on individual fields.

The charges against Claise and Ortiz are the latest gambling scandals to roil American professional sports since a landmark 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalized sports betting in most states.

Last month, more than 30 people, including Portland Trail Blazers head coach and Basketball Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, were arrested in a gambling sting that included leaking inside information about NBA athletes and rigging poker games backed by mob families.

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