Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase was arrested by FBI agents in New York on Thursday after being indicted by the Department of Justice for sports betting and money laundering,according to ESPN. Clase, 27, was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport. He was previously in the Dominican Republic, where he is from.
TheDOJ announced Sunday that Clase and fellow Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz were indicted. They are accused of several charges, including conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery and money laundering conspiracy.
Clase's involvement in the schemereportedly began in 2023, per investigators. He is accused of deliberately throwing certain pitches out of the strike zone — often at the beginning of an inning or at-bat — for gambling purposes.
Two such incidents reportedly took place in 2023, per the indictment, which features photos of the pitches in question.
Clase is also accused of getting Ortiz involved in the scheme in 2025. Clase allegedly was paid sums of $5,000 and $7,000 for his role in convincing Ortiz to deliberately throw balls out of the strike zone at certain points during the season.
In June, Clase allegedly withdrew $50,000 in cash and gave a portion of it to a bettor to place money on the pitch for Clase.
In May of 2025, Clase reportedly had a text exchange with a bettor who wagered on Clase to throw a ball to start an at-bat. Clase threw the ball out of the strike zone, but the batter swung at it, resulting in the bet losing. Twenty minutes after that pitch, the main bettor reportedly texted Clase a GIF of a man hanging himself with toilet paper. Clase responded 10 minutes later with an emoji of a sad dog.
Per the DOJ, Clase's role earned his co-conspirators at least $400,000 in rigged bets.
In July, MLB initially announced Ortiz would beplaced on leaveas part of a league investigation into gambling. Later that month, the leagueplaced Clase on leavein connection with its investigation. Both players were supposed to be eligible to return in August, but MLB opted tokeep them on leave indefinitely.
In response to rising concerns about sports gambling, the league announced Monday an agreement with sportsbooks tocap wagerson certain bets to $200.
Clase will be arraigned in Brooklyn at 2 p.m. ET Thursday. Ortiz was arrested Sunday. He pleaded not guilty to charges Wednesday.
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