Guardians' Emmanuel Clase arrested by FBI at JFK Airport for alleged role in gambling scheme

Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase was arrested by FBI agents at JFK Airport on Thursday and is currently in federal custody, Fox News Digital has learned. Clase was indicted on charges related to an alleged gambling scheme to rig bets on games during the MLB season, alongside his Cleveland teammate Luis Ortiz.

Clase was traveling to New York from the Dominican Republic, and was scheduled to be arraigned at a federal court in Brooklyn. 

"Emmanuel Clase has devoted his life to baseball and doing everything in his power to help his team win," Clase's lawyer, Michael Ferrara, said in an emailed statement Wednesday.

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Officials said in the indictment that, from May 2023 to June 2025, Clase agreed with one co-conspirator to "throw specific pitches in certain MLB games" so that the bettors they were allegedly partnered with "would profit from illegal wagers made based on that inside information." Ortiz allegedly joined the scheme in June 2025.

The indictment said Clase conferred with one bettor to throw a ball on the first pitch of an at-bat when he was brought into games in relief. The indictment pointed to instances in specific games, including May 19, 2023, vs. the New York Mets; June 2, 2023, vs. the Minnesota Twins; and June 7, 2023, vs. the Boston Red Sox.

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Clase allegedly began to request and receive bribes and kickback payments for agreeing to throw the specific pitches in April, according to the indictment. In one instance, the indictment said, Clase used his phone in the middle of a game to coordinate with a bettor on a pitch he would throw.

Bettors allegedly won $400,000 from betting platforms on pitches thrown by Clase between 2023 and 2025.

When Ortiz allegedly joined the scheme, the indictment said, he agreed to throw balls over strikes on certain pitches in exchange for bribes or kickbacks. He allegedly agreed to throw a ball on June 15 against the Seattle Mariners for around $5,000 in his first pitch in the second inning.

The indictment said Ortiz agreed to throw a ball in his first pitch of the third inning on June 27 against the St. Louis Cardinals for $7,000.

In June 2025, bettors won at least $60,000 on pitches thrown by Ortiz.

The indictment announcement came weeks after three NBA figures were swept up in an FBI operation involving illegal gambling. Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier and Damon Jones were among the more than two dozen arrested in the scheme.

Fox News Digital's Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report. 

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