Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase pleads not guilty to bet-rigging charges
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Jul 6, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Emmanuel Clase (48) reacts after giving up a run on a wild pitch during the ninth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
By Jack Queen
(Reuters) -Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase pleaded not guilty in Brooklyn federal court on Thursday to charges accusing him of rigging bets on his pitches during MLB games.
Clase, an MLB All-Star and Cleveland’s all-time saves leader, appeared in Brooklyn federal court and answered questions through a Spanish interpreter. His lawyer entered the plea on his behalf.
Clase was released on a $600,000 bond secured partly by his agent. Clase traveled to the U.S. from his native Dominican Republic on Thursday morning and will stay here for the remainder of the case, his lawyer Michael Ferrara said.
Ferrara did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Prosecutors also charged Clase's teammate Luis Ortiz, who pleaded not guilty in the case on Wednesday. They each face fraud conspiracy, bribery conspiracy and money laundering charges.
The Guardians and Major League Baseball have said they are cooperating with law enforcement. Clase and Ortiz are currently suspended.
The case is the latest to charge professional athletes with rigging bets on their performance. The rise in such cases has coincided with the explosion of legal sports betting in the U.S. in recent years.
Prosecutors said Clase and Ortiz rigged so-called prop bets on whether specific pitches they threw would be called balls or strikes, in exchange for bribes and kickbacks.
The indictment cites examples of Clase allegedly throwing pitches in the dirt on purpose to ensure they would be called as balls, allowing co-conspirators to win their bets.
Clase started rigging bets in May 2023, and Ortiz joined him around June 2025, according to the indictment.
Clase helped bettors cash at least $400,000 in fraudulent bets, and Ortiz was responsible for $60,000 in illicit winnings, prosecutors said.
Last month, Brooklyn federal prosecutors charged the Miami Heat's Terry Rozier and former Cleveland Cavaliers guard Damon Jones with bet-rigging in National Basketball Association games.
NBA Hall of Famer and Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups was charged in a related case with rigging illegal poker games.
Rozier, Jones and Billups have denied wrongdoing through their attorneys.
(Reporting by Jack Queen in New York;Editing by Noeleen Walder and Bill Berkrot)
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