Cleveland Guardians Prosecutors in Brooklyn, New York, have charged pitchers Emmanuel Claeys and Luis Ortiz with sports betting fraud, according to documents obtained by Pablo Torre and ESPN's Jeff Passan on Sunday.
According to the indictment in the Eastern District of New York, the pitchers allegedly threw balls intentionally while players bet that certain pitches would be balls or strikes. The pitchers were allegedly paid thousands of dollars for each incident.
Claeys and Ortiz can fight 65 years old in prison if found guilty of all charges, including fraud, conspiracy and bribery.
The indictment alleges that the incidents with Clays began in May 2023 and Ortiz later became involved.
Ortiz was arrested in Boston on Sunday and Claeys is not yet in custody, Passan reported.
Both pitchers were placed on leave by MLB in July as the league cooperated with federal law enforcement in its investigations.
Ortiz's initial investigation involved in-game bets on two pitches by the right-hander that generated higher than normal activity during his starts at Seattle on June 15 and against St. Louis on June 27. Gambling activity at the fields was flagged by a betting integrity firm and reported to MLB.
A pair of Cleveland pitchers are on leave after MLB suspended five players for gambling in June 2024, including a lifetime ban for San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano. MLB said Marcano placed 387 baseball bets totaling more than $150,000 at a legal sportsbook in 2022 and 2023.
Athletics pitcher Michael Kelly and three minor leaguers — San Diego pitcher Jay Groom, Arizona pitcher Andrew Saalfrank and Philadelphia infielder Jose Rodriguez — were suspended for one year.
Judge Pat Hoberg was fired from MLB in February for sharing his legitimate sports gambling accounts with a friend who bet on baseball games and for intentionally deleting emails related to the league's investigation.
— With files from The Associated Press.
