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Major League Baseball placed Luis Ortiz on non-disciplinary paid leave due to a gambling investigation on July 3. About 3½ weeks later, two-time American League Reliever of the Year Emmanuel Clase joined him.
Despite the devastating blows to the pitching staff, the Cleveland Guardians rallied to win the American League Central, overcoming a double-digit game deficit in the month of September.
The Detroit Tigers got the last laugh, eliminating Cleveland in a Wild Card series and forcing the Guardians to look forward to 2026.
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Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz remain on leave amid a gambling investigation as the World Series approaches. (David Dermer and Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn)
However, there is still a big question mark for next season. Will Clase and Ortiz be available?
On August 31, MLB extended the paid leave of Clase and Ortiz “until further notice while MLB continues its investigation.”
When asked if there was an update on the status of the pitchers, the league referred Pakinomist Digital to its August statement.
Pakinomist Digital asked the spokesperson how far along the investigation was or if there was an estimate of when it would conclude, and no update was provided.
The lack of an update comes two days before the World Series begins between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays, where the biggest superstar of the Fall Classic — and arguably the sport — was embroiled in a gambling controversy last year.
Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Emmanuel Clase delivers during the ninth inning against the Baltimore Orioles on July 23, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Phil Long)
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In the end, it was determined that Shohei Ohtani was indeed a victim of fraud when his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, stole millions of dollars from him to pay gambling debts. Ohtani was quickly cleared of any wrongdoing, but there’s still no news about the Guardians pitchers three months later.
The Ortiz investigation was related to in-game prop bets on two pitches he threw in a game against the Seattle Mariners June 15 and St. Louis Cardinals June 27. A betting integrity company flagged the possible problem and forwarded it to the league.
Then, on June 27, more unusual betting came on a pitch from Ortiz in the top of the third inning against St. Louis Cardinals. Once again, the bets were on a ball or a batter, and Ortiz proceeded to spike another pitch that the catcher couldn’t handle.
The firm flagged unusual betting action on the first pitch Ortiz threw in the bottom of the second inning to be a ball or strikeout. Ortiz put a slider in the ground well out of the strike zone.
Cleveland Guardians’ Luis Ortiz pitches in the first inning against the Minnesota Twins in Cleveland on April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
At the time of his leave, Clase had a 3.23 ERA on the season. In 2024, it was a minimal 0.61.
Both pitchers attempted to play in the Dominican Winter League, but were reportedly banned due to the investigation.
