Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz placed on paid leave by MLB as part of a gambling investigation
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Ortiz returned to Cleveland on Wednesday night. He was slated to be the starting pitcher for Thursday night's game at the Cubs. Instead, lefthander Joey Cantillo will be recalled from Triple A Columbus.
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Cleveland (40-44) has dropped a season-high six straight games and is 9-18 since May 1.
The 26-year old Ortiz was acquired in a trade with Pittsburgh last December. The righthander is 4-9 with a 4.36 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 16 starts this season. The nine losses are tied for the most in the American League.
In four big-league seasons, Ortiz is 16-22 with a 4.05 ERA and one save.
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The investigation into Ortiz comes a little more than a year after MLB suspended five players for gambling, including
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Athletics pitcher Michael Kelly and three minor leaguers — San Diego pitcher Jay Groome (a former Red Sox first-round pick), Philadelphia infielder José Rodríguez, and Arizona reliever Andrew Saalfrank — received one-year suspensions
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New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
MLB's gambling investigation into Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz: What we know
CHICAGO — On Wednesday evening, less than 24 hours before he was scheduled to take the mound for the Cleveland Guardians at Wrigley Field, Luis Ortiz was instead boarding a flight back to Cleveland. Shortly before first pitch Wednesday, after a day of MLB Draft prep meetings, Guardians executives learned Ortiz was being placed on 'non-disciplinary paid leave.' Multiple sources told The Athletic that the probe is related to gambling. Ortiz will remain on leave through at least the end of the All-Star break in two weeks. Advertisement The first order of business for team president Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff was to tab a new starter for Thursday. They selected Joey Cantillo, who was slated to start for Triple-A Columbus. Then, they booked Thursday morning flights to Chicago so they could meet with the team ahead of its series finale against the Chicago Cubs. The situation raises myriad questions, but many don't yet have answers. Cleveland's brass insists it doesn't have more information than what has been publicly reported. 'Not something we were expecting,' Antonetti said. Here's what we know. Two pitches, according to ESPN. It's not just the pitches, though. It's the unusual betting activity tied to them, bets placed on whether the pitches would be balls or hit-by-pitches, which were flagged by a betting-integrity firm and referred to sportsbook operators. The first instance being examined came in the second inning of a June 15 game against the Seattle Mariners. Ortiz started Randy Arozarena, the first batter of the inning, with an 87 mph slider far outside the zone. He wound up walking Arozarena in what ultimately spiraled into a five-run inning for Seattle. The second instance came in the third inning of a June 27 game against the St. Louis Cardinals. Ortiz spiked a first-pitch slider significantly wide of the strike zone to catcher Pedro Páges, the first batter of the inning. Two pitches later, Páges hit a home run. The Cardinals scored three times that inning. Overall, Ortiz has thrown a first-pitch strike to 63.1 percent of batters this season, according to data from SportRadar. Major League Baseball has declined to comment on anything related to the investigation, including whether law enforcement is involved. 'We don't know really anything that's going on,' said manager Stephen Vogt, 'so we can't control that.' Advertisement Antonetti said he hasn't spoken with the 26-year-old pitcher, and isn't aware of anyone who has, but Ortiz is permitted to have contact with the organization. He cannot, however, visit Progressive Field or any other Guardians facility. Antonetti did say the team 'would learn a little bit more' at the end of the All-Star break in two weeks, but that doesn't necessarily mean the league will reach a resolution by then. It could simply mean his leave is extended. One team official described the approach to handling the situation as akin to if Ortiz were injured, with no timetable for a return. Ortiz enjoyed a breakout season with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2024. The Guardians, eager to bolster their starting pitching depth, traded Gold Glove Award-winning second baseman Andrés Giménez to the Toronto Blue Jays as part of a three-team deal that landed Ortiz in Cleveland. The Guardians, who boast a reputation for boosting pitchers to new heights, thought they could squeeze more out of Ortiz, who posted a 3.32 ERA for the Pirates last year. Ortiz had mixed results in the first half of this season. His strikeout rate increased considerably, but so did his walk rate. He has shown flashes of frontline starter potential, but has also proven inconsistent. In 16 starts, he owns a 4.36 ERA. Ortiz is earning the league minimum of about $760,000 this season. He can become eligible for arbitration for the first time ahead of the 2027 season, and is under team control through the 2029 campaign. With regard to Ortiz, the league must determine whether the pitcher was pre-determining the outcome of his own output. That's a different category than the league's other recent examples of gambling scandals. A year ago, MLB punished five players for varying gambling offenses. The league banned San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano for life for betting on his own team, even though Marcano did not appear in any of the games on which he placed bets. The league also suspended four other players for one year for betting on baseball. Advertisement The league's most prominent player, Shohei Ohtani, was embroiled in a betting scandal last year after it was learned that his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, had stolen $17 million from the three-time MVP and used it to place bets with illegal bookies. Mizuhara reported to federal prison last month to serve a 57-month sentence for fraud. MLB fired umpire Pat Hoberg earlier this year after it was revealed that he shared sports betting accounts with a friend who bet on baseball games. The Ortiz investigation comes just days after it became public that the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York has opened a gambling-related federal investigation into NBA guard Malik Beasley. His attorney, Steve Haney, told The Athletic on Sunday that Beasley, who played for the Detroit Pistons last season, was a person of interest in the investigation but that no formal allegations had been made and no charges filed. The Eastern District has also charged six people with conspiracy to defraud a sports betting company for their roles in an alleged scheme involving former Toronto Raptors guard Jontay Porter. Four people have pleaded guilty, including Porter, who pleaded to one count of wire fraud conspiracy and is awaiting sentencing. He was banned from the NBA last April after the league said he bet on games and gave inside information to gamblers. Haney said it was not clear if the Beasley investigation was related to the Porter case. Rule 21d(2) in the MLB handbook states: 'Any player, umpire or club or league official or employee who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform, shall be declared permanently ineligible.' Rule 21d(3) states: 'Any player, umpire or club or league official or employee who places bets with illegal book makers or agents for illegal book makers, shall be subject to such penalty as the Commissioner deems appropriate in light of the facts and circumstances of the conduct.' Antonetti noted the rules are 'always posted. It's in every clubhouse. It's in English. It's in Spanish. I think people around the game and players are well aware of the regulations.' The Guardians sputtered into their series finale on Thursday on a six-game skid. They have lost 18 of 27. Their offense has been inept, as the Guardians rank 26th in the league in runs per game and 27th in OPS. Their bullpen has been inconsistent. If there's one area of the roster that was giving them encouragement, it was the rotation. Cleveland's rotation ranks: April: 27th (4.84 ERA) May: 13th (3.60 ERA) June: 5th (3.61 ERA) Advertisement One team source said the progress of the rotation has been the leading factor keeping the organization optimistic that the team will fare better in the second half. Ortiz's absence could challenge that notion. The best version of the 2025 Guardians included a stout front part of the rotation, with Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams and Ortiz all pitching better than they have. Shane Bieber is about a month away from a return from Tommy John surgery. Parker Messick, chosen to participate in the MLB Futures Game, could join the conversation in the coming months. As for Ortiz, the Guardians now must wait to learn if or when he'll return to their rotation. (Photo of Luis Ortiz: Nick Cammett / Getty Images)
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Yankees, Mets enter this Subway Series a long way from good ol' days
Access the Yankees beat like never before Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees. Try it free I am old enough to remember when New York baseball was great. Let me just consult my handy calendar to go all the way back to the good ol' days of mid-May. That's when the Mets and Yankees faced each for the first time this season; baseball archaeologists have pinpointed May 16 as the start date. The Yankees were 25-18, second best in the American League and leading their division by four games. The Mets were 28-16, fourth-best record in the majors, leading the NL East by two games. The Yankees took two of three in The Bronx, but the Subway Series seemed to launch both the defending AL champs and the surprise NLCS party crashers. Over the next three-plus weeks, through June 12, the Mets tied the Blue Jays for the best record (16-6). The Yankees were next at 15-6.
Fox News
2 hours ago
- Fox News
Guardians starter Luis Ortiz's suspicious wild pitches at heart of MLB gambling investigation
Cleveland Guardians starter Luis Ortiz was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave hours before he was scheduled to take the mound against the Chicago Cubs Thursday, MLB announced. While MLB didn't disclose the nature of its investigation, ESPN reported it was related to gambling. Two pitches thrown by Ortiz during a start are being scrutinized. In June, betting integrity firm IC360 relayed the two pitches to sportsbooks, according to ESPN, and the first was on June 15 against the Seattle Mariners. The firm flagged unusual betting action on the first pitch thrown by Ortiz in the bottom of the second inning to be a ball or hit batsman. Ortiz spiked a slider into the ground far away from the strike zone. Then, on June 27, more unusual betting action came in on a pitch from Ortiz in the top of the third inning against the St. Louis Cardinals. Once again, the bets were on a ball or a hit batsman, and Ortiz proceeded to spike another pitch the catcher couldn't handle. While instances like this happen to even the best of pitchers, the league is looking into the situation. The bets came in from Ohio, New York and New Jersey, according to ESPN. The non-disciplinary leave for Ortiz is scheduled to run through the MLB All-Star break, with games resuming for the second half July 18. The Guardians released a statement on the matter after MLB's announcement. "The Guardians have been notified by Major League Baseball that Luis Ortiz has been placed on leave per an agreement with the Players Association due to an ongoing league investigation. "The Guardians are not permitted to comment further at this time and will respect the league's confidential investigative process." Ortiz has pitched 16 times for the Guardians this season, recording a 4.36 ERA and 96 strikeouts. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
