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Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase was arrested by FBI agents at JFK Airport on Thursday and is currently in federal custody, Pak Gazette Digital has learned. Class was indicted on charges related to an alleged game plan to manipulate bets on games during the MLB season, along with his Cleveland teammate Luis Ortiz.
Class was traveling to New York from the Dominican Republic and was scheduled to be arraigned in federal court in Brooklyn.
“Emmanuel Clase has dedicated his life to baseball and has done everything in his power to help his team win,” Clase’s attorney, Michael Ferrara, said in an emailed statement Wednesday.
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Emmanuel Class #48 of the Cleveland Guardians reacts after a home run during the eighth inning against the New York Yankees during game three of the American League Championship Series at Progressive Field on October 17, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Officials said in the indictment that from May 2023 to June 2025, Clase agreed with a co-conspirator to “make specific pitches in certain MLB games” so that bettors they allegedly associated with “would benefit from illegal bets placed based on that inside information.” Ortiz allegedly joined the scheme in June 2025.
The indictment says Clase consulted with a punter to throw a ball on the first pitch of an at-bat when he was brought into games in relief. The indictment pointed to cases in specific games, including May 19, 2023 against the New York Mets; June 2, 2023 against the Minnesota Twins; and June 7, 2023 against the Boston Red Sox.
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The licenses of Cleveland Guardians pitchers Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase were extended indefinitely on August 31, 2025. (IMAGE/AP)
Clase allegedly began soliciting and receiving bribes and kickback payments for agreeing to make specific pitches in April, according to the indictment. In one case, according to the indictment, Clase used his phone in the middle of a game to coordinate with a bettor about a pitch he would make.
Bettors allegedly won $400,000 from betting platforms on releases made by Clase between 2023 and 2025.
When Ortiz allegedly joined the scheme, according to the indictment, he agreed to throw balls for strikes at certain pitches in exchange for bribes or kickbacks. He supposedly agreed to throw a ball on June 15 against the Seattle Mariners for about $5,000 on his first pitch in the second inning.
The indictment says Ortiz agreed to throw a ball on his first pitch of the third inning on June 27 against the St. Louis Cardinals for $7,000.
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Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase during a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco on June 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
In June 2025, bettors won at least $60,000 on pitches made by Ortiz.
The announcement of the indictment came weeks after three NBA figures were implicated in an FBI operation involving illegal gambling. Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier and Damon Jones were among more than two dozen arrested in the scheme.
