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Disgraced major league hurler Emmanuel Clase was arraigned on conspiracy and wire fraud charges in Brooklyn federal court Thursday and released on an $600,000 bond in a sports betting scandal that has sidelined his career and rocked the baseball world.
Clase’s arraignment came one day after teammate and alleged co-conspirator Luis Ortiz faced the judge and was released on a $500,000 bond while the controversial case moves forward.
Clase, 27, and Ortiz, 26, both star pitchers for the Cleveland Guardians, were indicted by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn over the weekend on wire fraud, conspiracy and money laundering charges for the alleged role in a sports betting scandal.
The two were placed on indefinite leave by Major League Baseball in July.
According to the 23-page indictment, Clase allegedly tipped off bettors about specific pitches he would throw in a game, which allowed gamblers to place a “prop bet” on what the pitch would be, a popular feature on major sports betting sites.
In one particular game against the Mets at Citi Field in Queens on May 19, 2023, Clase’s cohorts allegedly pocketed about $27,000 on a bet that he would throw the ball faster than 94.95 mph.
The bets, which included pre-planned wagers that Clase would throw a ball or a strike, often on the first pitch of a game, netted the co-conspirators at least $400,000 from 2023 to 2025.
Ortiz, Clase’s teammate on the Cleveland club, allegedly joined the scheme in June, and in one instance received about $5,000 for throwing off the plate in the first pitch of the second inning during a June 15 game in Seattle, federal prosecutors said.
On June 27, Clase is accused of withdrawing $50,000 in cash before a game and giving $15,000 to a bettor, who placed a prop bet on Ortiz’s first pitch of the third inning in a game.
Ortiz was arraigned Wednesday and released on a $500,000 bond and ordered to avoid any gambling while the case is pending, and is due back in court Dec. 2.
Clase, who signed a $20 million, five-year deal with the Guardians in 2022, is free on an $800,000 bond and is also back in court on Dec. 2.
He was arrested at JFK International Airport Thursday morning as he stepped off a plane from his native Dominican Republic, authorities said.
Both men pleaded not guilty to the charges.
“He poses no risk of flight,” Clase’s lawyer Michael Ferrera said. “[He] intends to stay through this.”
The pro baseball scandal is playing out while the National Basketball Association is grappling with its own sports betting controversy.
Former hoopster Damon Jones pleaded not guilty in Brooklyn federal court last week and released on a $200,000 bond as part of an alleged scheme to rig basketball games, with three other NBA stars implicated, including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billiups.
Rozier was accused in the game-rigging scandal, while Billups was accused in a separate, but connected, poker scheme which saw mobsters cheating high-rollers out of millions with tampered card shufflers.
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