NEW YORK — Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges that he and teammate Emmanuel Clase took bribes to help gamblers win bets placed on pitches they threw.
The 26-year-old starting pitcher appeared in Brooklyn federal court after his initial arrest Sunday at Boston’s Logan International Airport.
He was released on a $500,000 bond until his next court date Nov. 19, and issued GPS monitoring. Ortiz, who has already surrendered his passport to authorities, was also ordered to limit his travel to New York, Massachusetts and Ohio.
The other conditions of his release include no gambling, no possessing firearms or illegal drugs and having no contact with co-conspirators, victims and witnesses.
Ortiz, wearing a black leather jacket and jeans, provided short responses to the judge’s questions in court and didn’t respond to reporters seeking comment as he left the courtroom with his wife and lawyer.
Clase, the Guardian’s former closer and a three-time All-Star, will be arraigned at the same courthouse Thursday.
The two natives of the Dominican Republic have been on non-disciplinary paid leave since July, when MLB began investigating what it said was unusually high in-game betting activity when they pitched.
Prosecutors say Ortiz and Clase took several thousand dollars in payoffs to help two unnamed gamblers in their home country win at least $460,000 on bets placed on the speed and outcome of certain pitches.
They say Ortiz, who earned a $782,600 salary this year, rigged pitches in games against the Seattle Mariners and the St. Louis Cardinals this summer.
One of Ortiz’s lawyers, Chris Georgalis, has denied the charges, saying payments between his client and individuals in the Dominican Republic that are cited in the case were for legal activities.
Prosecutors say Clase, who is on the fourth season of a $20 million, five-year contract, recruited Ortiz into the scheme. They say the Guardians’ all-time saves leader began providing bettors with information about his pitches in 2023, but didn’t ask for payoffs until this year.
In one instance, prosecutors said Clase spoke to to one of the betters by phone just before taking the mound in a game last April against the Boston Red Sox. Minutes later, the bettor and his associates won $11,000 on a wager that Clase would toss a certain pitch slower than 97.95 mph (157.63 kph).
Clase and Ortiz are each charged with wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery.
The gambling-related arrests are the latest to roil American professional sports.
Last month, more than 30 people, including Portland Trail Blazers head coach and Basketball Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, were arrested in a gambling sweep that involved leaked inside information about NBA athletes and rigged poker games backed by Mafia families.
Major League Baseball, following the indictments of Clase and Ortiz, announced new limits on betting on individual pitches.
