Clase and Ortiz Pitch-Rigging Trial Opens in Brooklyn on Sports Bribery Charges

Jury selection began on Monday 2 November 2026 in the pitch-rigging trial of Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz in US federal court in Brooklyn, where both face a sports bribery count and three fraud-related counts.

The case, United States v. Clase de la Cruz and Ortiz Ribera (Cr. No. 25-CR-346), sits before Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The indictment was filed on 5 November 2025. Both men pleaded not guilty and are presumed innocent. According to the Associated Press, the jury trial is expected to last about a month, and both pitchers are on non-disciplinary leave without pay.

What the indictment charges

The indictment lists four counts, and the statutory maximums add up to 65 years, according to AFP.

Section 224 is the federal statute on bribery in sporting contests. Honest services fraud is a wire fraud theory under which a scheme is said to deprive an employer or institution, here Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Guardians, of the faithful conduct it is owed.

The indictment's theory is a fraud on betting platforms: wagers placed on outcomes that were allegedly settled in advance. It does not allege that sportsbook odds were manipulated.

How the alleged scheme worked

The indictment says the pitchers agreed ahead of time with bettors to throw particular pitch types and speeds. The bettors then wagered on those pitches, and the indictment alleges some bribes and kickbacks were paid through third parties.

Prosecutors say Clase began giving information to bettors in 2023 and recruited Ortiz in 2025. The government alleges Clase rigged at least 18 pitches across 17 games between 19 May 2023 and 28 May 2025. ESPN reports that prosecutors say he used code words such as "rooster" and "chicken".

AFP reports that betting platforms flagged unusually heavy wagering on Ortiz's first pitch on 15 June 2025.

Alleged winnings and the pitches at issue

ESPN's table of the 18 government-listed Clase pitches identifies the Dodgers hitter on 28 May 2025 as Andy Pages. These figures are allegations from the charging document, not findings.

Sportsbooks and witnesses

Attorneys disclosed at a hearing on Friday 30 October 2026 that the bets were placed with DraftKings, FanDuel and ESPN BET, according to ESPN. DraftKings and MLB officials are among the potential witnesses. AP adds that Guardians executives, catchers and other baseball executives are also expected to testify.

For licensed operators, the case turns on pitch-level markets, where a single athlete's action settles a wager. The government's fraud theory casts the betting platforms as the parties deceived, which places operator monitoring and data at the center of the evidence. Regulators elsewhere have also moved on integrity. Earlier Gamingo coverage tracked how Brazil strengthened penalties for match-fixing, how Sweden tightened its match-fixing laws, how Sportradar partnered with Palmeiras on integrity, and how the Dutch regulator reported a drop in match-fixing cases.

Pretrial rulings and the defense case

On 30 October 2026 Judge Matsumoto barred prosecutors from showing the jury evidence that Clase owes about $500,000 in US taxes. The government had handed that evidence over late, according to AP.

Clase's lawyers argue the pitches were ordinary baseball strategy. A January filing said his messages concerned legal cockfighting in the Dominican Republic. Ortiz's bid for a separate trial failed.

Two other men are named as co-defendants in the case. According to ESPN, citing a US Attorney's Office spokesperson, one of them was extradited from the Dominican Republic on 19 October 2026 and is not part of this trial.

AP reports that Judge Matsumoto wanted jury selection finished quickly enough to allow short opening statements on the first afternoon.

Status reviewed on 4 November 2026. Charge details and alleged winnings come from the federal indictment filed 5 November 2025, and trial developments from ESPN, the Associated Press and AFP. More sports betting news and North America coverage.