As the Cleveland Guardians chase a playoff spot in the final week of the MLB regular season, the club is without one of the league’s most dominant relievers, who is out while facing federal charges in an alleged micro betting conspiracy.
The Guardians have ascended to the top of the AL Central standings despite the absence of Emmanuel Clase, a two-time league reliever of the year. Clase, who has led the AL in saves in three separate seasons, has been on non-disciplinary leave from the team since July 2025. Ahead of jury selection on rigged pitching allegations, Clase’s legal team received some insight on the government’s strategy in the high-stakes trial.
Clase, Guardians’ teammate Luis Ortiz and another defendant are facing several charges in the comprehensive white-collar scheme, including money laundering, wire fraud and conspiracy charges. While Clase has delivered thousands of pitches over his six-year MLB career, the government will focus on nearly two dozen at November’s trial. Prosecutors from the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York plan to introduce evidence that will focus on 18 pitches by Clase, according to a memo dated 18 September. At the same time, they plan to focus on two allegedly rigged pitches from Ortiz.
Last February, attorneys for Ortiz wrote that prosecutors accused Clase of throwing suspicious pitches in at least 48 games. The list submitted by the prosecution this month has been narrowed to 17 contests. If convicted on all charges, Clase and Ortiz each face up to 65 years in prison. However, estimates from federal sentencing guidelines call for a range of 87 months to 104 months per defendant, resulting in a sentence of at least seven years.
The government intends to offer “evidence to why the defendants went to great lengths to conceal their pitch-rigging efforts and association with certain bettors, which included using intermediary financial conduits, straw bettors and code words to communicate rigged pitches”, wrote Joseph Nocella, US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, in the memo.
List of pitches
Last November, 10 days after the end of the World Series, a federal judge unsealed an indictment against the two Guardians pitchers. Although Clase is viewed as one of the top relief pitchers in MLB, Ortiz is less heralded. In four MLB seasons, Ortiz has a 16-22 record, with a 4.05 ERA.
The pitchers, according to prosecutors, rigged the aforementioned pitches before entering the mound, then provided material non-public information on the activity to their co-conspirators. Based on the information, the bettors made at least a hundred wagers on the pitches, prosecutors allege.
The allegations date back to 19 May 2023 when the Guardians faced the New York Mets in New York. Clase opened the bottom of the 10th inning with a 98-mph cutter to Starling Marte. The low cutter landed outside of the strike zone for a ball. Clase allegedly rigged three pitches that month, with two against the Baltimore Orioles, 11 days later.
The government accuses Clase of fixing the first pitch in the bottom of the eighth against third baseman Ramon Urias. The 92-mph slider again landed outside the zone. It was not the only pitch Clase is accused of rigging against Baltimore. After Urias doubled to right field, Clase threw a ball to Terrin Vavra on his second pitch against the outfielder. Of the 18 pitches cited by prosecutors, 17 featured a “ball” on the first pitch of a plate appearance. The lone exception: the 100-mph cutter against Vavra.
Although most of the pitches occurred in the regular season, prosecutors cited one alleged pitch in the playoffs. On 5 October 2024, Clase faced Detroit Tigers outfielder Matt Vierling in the top of the ninth. He threw a 93-mph slider that missed the zone by a wide margin. Clase still retired to the side for a 7-0 win in Game 1 of the American League Division Series.
The ‘rooster’ text message
The last pitch cited under scrutiny occurred on 28 May 2025, when Clase faced Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages. Clase bounced the pitch into the ground, but Pages still swung, resulting in a called strike. Earlier that month, Clase communicated via text message with an alleged co-conspirator. The message, prosecutors allege, served as “coded language” for a rigged pitch.
According to prosecutors, the two men communicated before a 18 May 2025 game against the Cincinnati Reds.
Unidentified middleman: “Throw a rock at the first rooster in today’s fight.”
Clase: “Yes, of course, that’s an easy toss to that rooster.”
Prosecutors believe that references to a “rooster” or a “chicken” were indicative of the batter Clase would face. Clase later indicated that he intended to throw a pitch low, according to court files. The defense contended that the rooster was in reference to “cock fighting”, a hobby of Clase’s. The pitcher, however, did not appear in the Guardians’ 3-1 loss to the Reds.
Clase, 28, hails from Rio San Juan, Dominican Republic, a municipality located on the northern part of the island. According to prosecutors, Clase argues that his Dominican background will be relevant in
understanding his “relationship to rooster fighting” and his relationship with his co-conspirators. In the memo, the government asked the court to preclude the defense from introducing “improper evidence” regarding Clase’s character.
According to prosecutors, Clase simply wishes to admit background evidence as a tactic to distract the jury.
“This case is not about Clase’s fame as an MLB pitcher, nor is it about Clase’s gambling on rooster fighting in the Dominican Republic,” Nocella wrote.
The defense submitted a letter to court on 22 September in response to the government’s motion. As of Tuesday night, the letter remained sealed by the court. Jury selection is scheduled to begin on 2 November.
Matt Rybaltowski
Matt is primarily responsible for long-form feature coverage on complex sports betting scandals. He also provides coverage on finance, M&A and other technological developments.
