Guardians’ standout reliever Emmanuel Clase reportedly handed himself over to federal authorities in New York before his scheduled court date, igniting debate over what comes next.NL

The federal indictment against Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase includes this photo that shows a pitch thrown in the dirt well in front of home plate. Federal prosecutors say the pitcher deliberately threw the pitch so bettors would make money on wagers.Federal indictment

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase began the legal fight to save his career Thursday when he surrendered to FBI agents on charges that he took part in a gambling scheme to doctor his pitches in exchange for kickbacks.

Authorities then hustled Clase, 27 — the best reliever in the game since 2022 — to his arraignment in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, where he has become a central figure in a scandal that has left Major League Baseball reeling.

He denied the allegations. U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph A. Marutollo set his bond at $600,000, and Clase was released. His travel is limited to New York and Ohio, and he must wear a GPS monitoring device, the Associated Press reported.

He went to court a day after his Cleveland teammate, Luis Ortiz, 26, pleaded not guilty. Clase flew Thursday from the Dominican Republic to John F. Kennedy International Airport, where the federal agents met him.

Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer reached out to Clase’s defense attorneys for comment.

An indictment accuses the players of wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery and money laundering. It alleges that Clase and Ortiz intentionally threw balls so bettors could profit on prop bets involving specific pitches.

Prosecutors said they found evidence against Clase dating back to May 2023 and later included Ortiz when he joined the Guardians in 2025.

The document indicates that Clase agreed with sports bettors to rig bets on specific pitches that he threw. Bettors wagered on the speed and type of pitch Clase threw, based on what he told them before he took the mound, according to the court filing.

The charges said the bettors “would profit from illegal wagers based on that inside information.” In exchange, Clase earned thousands of dollars in kickbacks, prosecutors said.

Authorities said Clase often threw the rigged pitches on the first pitch of an at-bat. To ensure certain pitches were called as balls, he threw many of them in the dirt, well in front of home plate. Prosecutors said Clase helped bettors win at least $400,000 in fraudulent wagers.

In June, Ortiz took part in the scheme, according to prosecutors. With Clase, Ortiz agreed to throw balls instead of strikes on pitches in two games in exchange for bribes, according to authorities. Prosecutors said Ortiz helped bettors illegally pocket $60,000.

In court filings, the case against Clase began in May 2023, when Clase let bettors know that he would throw a pitch against the New York Mets faster than 95 mph. Prosecutors said gamblers parlayed that knowledge into $27,000 in winnings.

Days later, in Minnesota, Clase bounced a pitch in the dirt that was below 95 mph, a move that prosecutors said helped bettors bank $38,000.

In April of this year, Clase requested payments for his help, the charges allege. After a game against the Kansas City Royals, Clase asked a bettor to send some of the winnings “to the DR,” a reference to the Dominican Republic, according to prosecutors. He sought the payments for “repairs to the country house.”

Two weeks later, he texted and called a bettor during a game against the Boston Red Sox about one of his pitches that he would throw during the game, the indictment alleges. The pitch was slower than 98 mph, and the bettor and others won $11,000, according to the court filing.

Clase cost his allies in the scheme at least once, according to the indictment. In a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 28, Clase buried a pitch in the dirt, but outfielder Andy Pages swung at it, according to the indictment and published reports, and the gamblers lost $8,000.

Afterward, Clase texted a sad puppy-dog face to one of them, even though the Guardians won, the filing shows.

The indictment does not identify the gamblers who wagered on the games, as they are listed as only “Bettor 1” and “Bettor 2.” Prosecutors, however, appear to have obtained cell phone data and personal information about the pitchers.

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Clase was in the middle of a five-year, $20 million contract. Ortiz was on a one-year contract with the Guardians that was to pay him $782,000. Ortiz’s attorney, Chris Georgalis of Cleveland, said his client “has always given his best effort in every inning of every game.”

The pitchers were pulled from the Guardians and placed on paid leave in July, when the allegations first surfaced.

After the indictment was unsealed Sunday, Major League Baseball restricted prop bets, or the wagering on individual pitches, to $200.

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