Guardians pitchers denied separate trials in alleged pitch-rigging case

CLEVELAND — The trial for two Cleveland Guardians pitchers facing charges related to an alleged pitch-rigging scheme will proceed as planned in November, as a federal judge in Brooklyn this week denied Emmanuel Clase’s and Luis Ortiz’s requests for separate trials, according to court documents obtained by The Athletic.

In a series of rulings filed in the U.S. Eastern District of New York, Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto rejected the pitchers’ motions for severance and also denied the government’s bid to disqualify Clase’s counsel from the proceedings. The trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 2.

The pitchers were placed on non-disciplinary paid leave in July 2025 after Major League Baseball was alerted to their alleged involvement in a ploy in which predetermined pitches netted gamblers prop-bet winnings totaling at least $450,000. Clase and Ortiz allegedly received bribes or kickbacks for spiking sliders in the dirt and, according to the prosecution’s findings, attempted to conceal their participation by using words such as “rooster” and “chickens” to communicate about the operation. Clase is known to be involved in rooster fighting in his native Dominican Republic.

Clase and Ortiz pleaded not guilty to four charges: conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery, and money laundering conspiracy. Their alleged co-conspirator, Robinson Vasquez Germosen, painted as a middleman between Clase and bettors in the Dominican, faces a charge of making materially false statements to law enforcement agents. The judge did grant Clase’s request to sever his trial from Vasquez, but only as it pertains to that fifth charge.

In February, Ortiz’s camp argued for separate trials on the basis that he will “face severe unfair prejudice in a joint trial.” Clase’s counsel supported the position, stressing severance was necessary to ensure a fair trial for both pitchers.

Ortiz’s lawyer, Christos N. Georgalis, characterized Ortiz as “a victim of Clase’s scheme, rather than a knowing and willing participant” and wrote that he planned to invoke a defense that Clase supplied Ortiz’s pitching strategy to the bettors without Ortiz’s knowledge. In other words, Ortiz’s best path to proving his innocence would be to assert Clase’s guilt, which would make the pitchers’ defense strategies “mutually antagonistic.”

Ortiz’s counsel also insisted severance was merited because of the vastly differing scale in which the two pitchers were allegedly involved in the scheme. Clase is accused of rigging pitches in 48 games across three seasons, including the 2024 postseason. Ortiz, meanwhile, has only two pitches from June 2025 under scrutiny. Ortiz’s representatives argued that the extent of Clase’s connection to the co-conspirators could lead a jury to presume Ortiz’s guilt.

The court, however, labeled Ortiz’s motivation for severance as “finger-pointing” and argued that varying levels of culpability and proof are inevitable and not grounds for separate trials. The judge cited multiple court rulings to stress that there’s a preference for defendants charged with participation in the same criminal conspiracy to stand trial together to prevent inconsistent verdicts.

Georgalis wrote months ago that he planned to call Clase’s attorneys as exculpatory witnesses, and Clase’s camp countered that it would make Ortiz a “second prosecutor” against Clase. Last summer, Clase’s attorneys interviewed and prepared statements from four witnesses who denied the existence of a pitch-rigging operation, including Vasquez. Three witnesses — all but Vasquez — signed declarations, but Vasquez and a second witness later recanted.

At a January hearing, Clase voluntarily elected to continue with his representation, even after being informed of potential conflicts of interest. In April, the prosecution moved to disqualify Clase’s attorneys, but the judge ruled this week that such an act is not necessary.

The pitchers remain on indefinite non-disciplinary leave, but through a March agreement between the league and the players’ association, their status shifted to unpaid. Clase, a three-time All-Star closer with a career 1.88 ERA, was set to earn $6.4 million this season. Ortiz was in line to earn a salary near the league minimum of $780,000.

— Mike Vorkunov contributed to this story.