Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz has leave extended amid gambling probe
Ortiz was placed on leave on July 3, and it was later determined that the league was looking at Ortiz for his possible involvement in gambling while pitching for Cleveland.
"We have been informed of the extension and will fully cooperate with the investigation," the Guardians said in a statement.
The investigation centers on two pitches that Ortiz threw: one on June 15 against the Seattle Mariners and a game with the St. Louis Cardinals on June 27. There was unusual betting around prop bets surrounding those pitches, both sliders, against Mariners outfielder Randy Arozarena and Cardinals catcher Pedro Pages.
Ortiz, 26, is in his first season with the Guardians after being acquired in a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates in December. He is 4-9 with a 4.36 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 16 starts this season.
Cleveland (46-49) starts its second half Friday at home against the Athletics, and sits 12 games back in the AL Central behind the Detroit Tigers.
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Guards' All-Star Emmanuel Clase placed on paid leave as part of MLB sports betting investigation
Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase has been placed on non-disciplinary paid leave as part of a Major League Baseball investigation into sports betting. Clase, a three-time All-Star, becomes the second Guardians pitcher to be placed on leave in connection with a sports gambling probe. Luis Ortiz also is on non-disciplinary leave through Aug. 31. It was unclear if the cases were related in any way. The Guardians said in a statement that they 'have been informed that no additional players or club personnel are expected to be impacted.' The 27-year-old Clase is 5-3 with 24 saves in 48 games this year, but he also has a career-high 3.23 ERA. The right-hander led the AL in saves in each of the previous three years and was speculated to be sought after in trades ahead of this week's MLB trade deadline. MLB said in a statement that Clase had been placed on leave per an agreement with the players' association while the league 'continues its sports betting investigation.' It declined further comment. Cleveland was slated to begin a three-game series against Colorado on Monday night. The Guardians are second in the AL Central with a 52-53 record. The Ortiz investigation is related to in-game prop bets on two pitches thrown by the right-hander that received higher activity than usual during his starts at Seattle on June 15 and against St. Louis on June 27. The gambling activity on the pitches was flagged by a betting-integrity firm and forwarded to MLB. The situation with Clase and Ortiz comes 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 with a legal sportsbook in 2022 and 2023. Athletics pitcher Michael Kelly and three minor leaguers — San Diego pitcher Jay Groome, Arizona pitcher Andrew Saalfrank and Philadelphia infielder José Rodríguez — received one-year suspensions. Umpire Pat Hoberg was fired by Major League Baseball in February for sharing his legal sports gambling accounts with a friend who bet on baseball games, and for intentionally deleting electronic messages pertinent to the league's investigation. ___ AP MLB: Jay Cohen, The Associated Press
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17 minutes ago
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What Emmanuel Clase being placed on leave means for MLB, the Guardians and the trade market
Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave Monday as part of an ongoing MLB investigation into sports betting. Clase becomes the second Cleveland Guardian involved in the probe, joining starting pitcher Luis Ortiz, who was put on the same non-disciplinary leave on July 3. Ortiz's leave was recently extended through Aug. 31, the same date that Clase's stint will expire. The news, first reported by ESPN's Jeff Passan, was later confirmed in a statement by the Guardians. The Guardians were tight-lipped in their statement, noting only that 'no additional players or Club personnel are expected to be impacted.' If true, that's a significant piece of news and one that stems any speculation about a larger scheme afoot at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario. The Ortiz news made ripples earlier this month when ESPN reported that two specific pitches of his had been flagged as suspicious. The offerings — one against the Mariners on June 15 and one against the Cardinals on June 27 — were both balls thrown on the first pitch of an inning. Sportsbooks often offer wagers on individual pitches, providing odds, for example, on whether the first pitch of an inning will be a ball, a strike or put in play. The unverified suspicion about Ortiz is that the 26-year-old Dominican was purposefully throwing balls to begin innings. Presumably, either he or an associate was then placing larger than normal wagers on those pitches. Sportsbooks and betting integrity consultancies track such outliers, as was the case with Ortiz, per ESPN. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] But while Ortiz's alleged conduct raised eyebrows and alarms, Clase's towering stature makes his involvement much bigger news. The 27-year-old closer is widely regarded as one of the best relievers in the sport. His career 1.88 ERA across 366 games is the second-lowest mark in MLB history among pitchers with at least 100 career appearances. In 2024, Clase delivered a historically great relief campaign, surrendering just five earned runs across 74⅓ innings and earning a third-place finish in American League Cy Young voting. Also, in 2020, he received an 80-game suspension for testing positive for a banned substance. Clase immediately becomes the most notable major leaguer disciplined or placed on leave for potential involvement in a gambling probe. In March 2024, two-way Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani was wrapped up in a betting scandal surrounding his longtime interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara. Evidence swiftly absolved Ohtani of guilt, and he was never reprimanded by the league in any way. In June 2024, five MLB players were disciplined after it was revealed they had bet on MLB games. Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Tucupita Marcano was given a lifetime ban for placing 387 baseball bets totaling more than $150,000. The other four players — Michael Kelly (Athletics), Jay Groome (Padres), José Rodríguez (Phillies) and Andrew Saalfrank (Diamondbacks) — were each suspended for a year for wagering much smaller amounts. The omnipresence of online sports betting has exploded since a 2018 Supreme Court ruling deemed a federal ban on sports gambling unconstitutional. In the years since, sportsbooks have pounced to secure agreements with professional sports leagues and organizations. More than half of MLB teams, as well as the league itself, have some sort of official sportsbook or online gambling partner. It has become impossible to attend or watch a ballgame without being inundated by parlay offerings and over/under prop bets. That this wave has spread to players is as unsurprising as it is concerning. MLB is not the only league dealing with the implications of gambling's growth. NBA player Jontay Portay was banned for life in 2024 after it was discovered that he disclosed inside information to sports bettors and restricted his own availability for the purpose of winning bets. At the same time, the allegations about Ortiz — and, by proxy, Clase — coaxing negative outcomes for potential financial benefit represent unprecedented territory in baseball's modern era. Such actions threaten the competitive integrity of the sport. Depending on the results of this investigation, the players could deserve and receive punishment. However, this is also a dynamic of the league's making. By embracing the world of online gambling for financial gain, MLB, like other major sports leagues, made a calculated risk. The league understood that in exchange for a massive cash infusion, it would, one day, need to withstand a reckoning. That moment — in which the line between competition and commerce blurs into a dangerous haze — has very much arrived. Baseball is not the only sport fighting this issue, but given the sheer number of inconsequential micromoments that can be bet on in a baseball game, the sport is uniquely vulnerable. And while the game's fundamental integrity remains intact for now, each additional scandal chips away at the armor. Ortiz and Clase might be the only characters in this particular scandal, but they will not be baseball's last rulebreakers. — Mintz How does this news impact the Guardians and the trade deadline? Only time will reveal the long-term implications and consequences of Ortiz's and Clase's alleged misdeeds. But while the league's investigation into their conduct is still in its early stages, Monday's news about Clase will have significant short-term ramifications for this season and the MLB trade deadline. Even before Clase's sudden unavailability, the Guardians were primed to be one of the more intriguing clubs in the hours leading up to the 6 p.m. ET Thursday deadline. The defending AL Central champions and one of the final four teams standing last October, Cleveland's first half of 2025 hardly resembled that of a contender, and a 10-game losing streak seemed to have the team trending toward sell mode in early July. But the Guardians have rallied since that brutal skid, winning 12 of their past 17 games to remain on the fringes of the AL wild-card race. Still, with a sub-.500 record and a minus-38 run differential that doesn't inspire much confidence about the postseason, the Guardians have been getting plenty of calls from rival clubs inquiring about the availability of some of their key players. And unlike some other expected sellers — such as Arizona and Baltimore, who have a boatload of expiring contracts to deal away — Cleveland's most compelling trade chips, including Clase, have multiple years of team control remaining. The closer signed an extension in 2022 that has him scheduled to make $6.4 million in 2026 and features $10 million club options for 2027 and '28, an ultra-affordable contract for one of the game's best closers, making him a premium trade chip if Cleveland chooses to deal him. But that surplus value is now moot, at least for the time being, forcing Cleveland to contemplate alternative deadline strategies. It's not just about losing Clase as a piece who could net a serious haul in a trade; it's also about losing a key reliever for any realistic effort to be a playoff team in 2025. On both sides, it's a massive shake-up that could alter how Cleveland acts this week. The spotlight of trade speculation could now shine brighter on another key Guardian whom plenty of rival clubs have called about: All-Star outfielder Steven Kwan, who is under contract through 2027. Prior to Monday's news, Clase appeared far more likely to be on the move than Clase, but perhaps Cleveland will now be more willing to entertain a potentially massive return in a Kwan trade. Shane Bieber also looms as a unique Guardians trade candidate this week, a franchise favorite who somewhat surprisingly re-signed with Cleveland this past offseason while rehabbing elbow surgery. But if the Guardians are intent on retooling, Bieber — who has a $16 million player option for next season — could immediately become one of the more alluring starting pitchers available. He is scheduled to make a minor-league rehab start this week; it's safe to say that outing will be heavily scouted by rival clubs. Maybe the Guardians decide to lay low ahead of the deadline and proceed with the roster they have, accepting where this season goes, for better or worse. But it's hard not to wonder how Clase's unexpected exit from the roster has shifted their plans. Beyond Cleveland, the market for Clase's peers at his position might also be impacted by this unexpected twist. With a notable lack of impact hitters available via trade, several contending teams have reportedly turned their attention to a crowded relief market as a more realistic avenue for upgrading their rosters. Clase's placement on the restricted list likely means one fewer high-leverage arm for teams to chase in the coming days. That could raise the prices for Jhoan Duran or Griffin Jax, two top Twins relievers under contract through 2027, or Pirates closer David Bednar, who is even more likely to be dealt and is signed through 2026. 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17 minutes ago
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Second Guardians pitcher on leave under MLB gambling probe
Cleveland Guardians closing relief pitcher Emmanuel Clase was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave through August 31 on Monday as part of Major League Baseball's investigation into sports gambling. Clase becomes the second Guardians player placed on paid leave as part of the sports betting probe, with starting pitcher Luis Ortiz going on the list July 3 and having his leave extended 10 days ago to August 31. "Per an agreement with the MLBPA (players union), Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase has been placed on non-disciplinary paid leave through games on August 31 while MLB continues its sports betting investigation," an MLB statement said. "We will not comment further until the investigation has been completed." Clase, a 27-year-old Dominican right-hander in his fifth season with the Guardians. The three-time American League All-Star has led the league in saves in each of the past three campaigns and this year has 24 saves and a 5-3 record with a 3.23 earned-run average and 47 strikeouts over 47 1/3 innings over 48 appearances. Ortiz, a 26-year-old Dominican right-hander obtained in a trade with Pittsburgh last December, is 4-9 this season with a 4.36 earned-run average with 96 strikeouts in 16 appearances this season. Both Ortiz and Clase are allowed contact with the organization while on leave, but they are not permitted at team facilities. The Guardians said no other players or team personnel are expected to be impacted by the investigation. "We have been informed that no additional players or club personnel are expected to be impacted," the team said in a statement. "The Guardians are not permitted to comment further at this time and will respect the league's confidential investigative process as we continue to fully cooperate." A firm that monitors wagers for a strange betting patterns flagged Ortiz pitches on June 15 against Seattle and June 27 against St. Louis, according to multiple reports, but it was not clear why Clase was under scrutiny. js/lp
