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Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase was arrested by FBI agents at JFK Airport on Thursday and is currently in federal custody, Pakinomist Digital has learned. Clase was indicted on charges related to an alleged gambling scheme to rig bets on games during the MLB season along with his Cleveland teammate Luis Ortiz.
Clase traveled to New York from the Dominican Republic and was scheduled to appear in federal court in Brooklyn.
At his hearing, Clase pleaded not guilty to charges that he accepted bribes to help players win bets on his seats. He was released on $600,000 bail, surrendered his passport and was ordered to limit his travel to New York and Ohio, abstain from gambling and submit to GPS monitoring.
“Emmanuel Clase has dedicated his life to baseball and does everything in his power to help his team win,” Clase’s attorney, Michael Ferrara, said in an emailed statement Wednesday.
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Emmanuel Clase #48 of the Cleveland Guardians reacts after an eighth inning home run against the New York Yankees during Game Three of the American League Championship Series at Progressive Field on October 17, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Officials said in the indictment that from May 2023 to June 2025, Clase agreed with a co-conspirator to “throw specific pitches in certain MLB games” so that the bettors they allegedly colluded with “would benefit from illegal betting based on this inside information.” Ortiz reportedly joined the scheme in June 2025.
The indictment said Clase was conferring with a player about throwing a ball at first pitch in a bullpen when he was brought into games in relief. The indictment pointed to instances in specific games, including May 19, 2023 vs. New York Mets; June 2, 2023, vs. Minnesota Twins; and June 7, 2023 against the Boston Red Sox.
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Cleveland Guardians pitchers Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase’s leaves of absence were extended indefinitely until August 31, 2025. (IMAGN/AP)
Clase allegedly began soliciting and receiving bribes and kickbacks to agree to throw the specific pitches in April, according to the indictment. In one instance, the indictment said, Clase used his phone in the middle of a game to coordinate with a player on a pitch he wanted to throw.
Bettors reportedly won $400,000 from betting platforms on pitches thrown by Clase between 2023 and 2025.
When Ortiz allegedly joined the scheme, the indictment said, he agreed to throw balls over strikes on certain pitches in exchange for bribes or kickbacks. He reportedly agreed to throw a ball on June 15 at Seattle Mariners for about $5,000 in his first pitch in the second inning.
The indictment said Ortiz agreed to throw a ball on his first pitch of the third inning on June 27 against St. Louis Cardinals for $7,000.
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Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase during a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco on June 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, file)
In June 2025, players won at least $60,000 on pitches thrown by Ortiz.
The indictment came weeks after three NBA figures were swept up in an FBI operation involving illegal gambling. Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier and Damon Jones were among the more than two dozen arrested in the scheme.
