Federal prosecutors allege in an indictment unsealed Friday that former Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase rigged a pitch in a playoff game and used coded language to try to conceal his efforts to help gamblers win prop bets.
The indictment details the belief of prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York that Clase rigged more pitches during his years with the Guardians than initially thought.
They now suspect Clase, a three-time All-Star and 2024 AL Cy Young
Award finalist, fixed 15 pitches between the 2023 and 2025 seasons, including in the ninth inning of the Guardians' 2024 American League Division Series opener against the Detroit Tigers, and intended to rig pitches on three additional occasions but did not get into the game.
The documents unsealed Friday allege Clase and collaborators used words like "chicken" and "rooster" in text exchanges to mask his intention to deliberately throw certain pitches for balls.
The Athletic cited an example from May 18, 2025, when Clase, 27, received a text directing him to "Throw a rock at the first rooster in today's fight."
Prosecutors say gamblers netted at least $450,000 from the wagering scheme and kicked back some winnings to Clase and teammate Luis Ortiz, who face charges of wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery.
They accuse Ortiz, 27, of fixing two pitches.
MLB placed both pitchers on the restricted list and administrative leave last July ahead of their arrests in November.
Clase and Ortiz pleaded not guilty to all charges, and their trial in New York is scheduled to start May 4.
Along with requesting a later start date, counsel for Ortiz has asked the federal judge overseeing the proceedings to sever his case and allow him to be tried separately from Clase.
Clase owns a career 1.88 ERA with 182 saves in 366 games. Cleveland acquired him in a trade with the Texas Rangers in 2019.
Ortiz has a career 16-22 record and 4.05 ERA in 75 games (50 starts) with the Pittsburgh Pirates (2022-24) and Guardians (2025).
--Field Level Media
