mlb baseball gambling ortiz clase.

Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz are facing a May trial on charges that they took bribes to help gamblers betting on their pitches. U.S. District Court Judge Kiyo Matsumoto on Tuesday said jury selection would begin May 4 in Brooklyn federal court, with the trial opening the following week or sooner. Prosecutors told the judge at the brief hearing that both sides have been in pretrial discussions but have not talked about a possible plea deal in the case. The pitchers and their lawyers declined to comment outside the courtroom. They’re due back in court Jan. 15.

Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz is due in court on charges accusing him and teammate Emmanuel Clase of taking bribes to help bettors in their native Dominican Republic win prop bets placed on pitches they threw. According to the indictment against the two, the highly paid hurlers took several thousand dollars in payoffs to help two unnamed gamblers in their home country win at least $460,000 on bets placed on the speed and outcome of certain pitches. Ortiz was arrested Sunday by the FBI in Boston while Clase wasn’t immediately taken into custody. Lawyers for the pitchers said their clients are innocent. MLB and the Guardians say they are cooperating with the federal investigation.

Two Major League Baseball pitchers have been indicted on charges they took bribes to give sports bettors advance notice of the types of pitches they’d throw and intentionally tossed balls instead of strikes to ensure successful bets. Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz both pitched for the Cleveland Guardians. They have been on non-disciplinary paid leave since July while Major League Baseball investigated what it said was unusually high in-game betting activity when they pitched. A lawyer for Ortiz declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press and a lawyer for Clase did not immediately return messages seeking comment.