Luis Ortiz, a pitcher for the Cleveland Guardians, posted $500,000 bond Monday at Moakley Federal Courthouse to charges accusing him and a teammate of rigging prop bets for profit.
Ortiz, 26, had no comment outside court. His legal team also declined to speak with reporters.
The Guardians player was arrested Sunday at Logan Airport for allegedly helping a gambling scheme where he’s accused of fixing bets on his play.
According to the indictment, he and teammate Emmanuel Clase are accused of taking bribes to help their friends in their home country of the Dominican Republic. The two players were reportedly relaying information about what pitches they may throw, how fast, and where.
Then, his friends would allegedly cash in on the pitch-by-pitch bets, and give a percentage to each.
The indictment claims their friends cashed in nearly half a million dollars during this scheme.
Ortiz was arrested at Logan Airport Sunday.
Boston 25 legal analyst Peter Elikann has been monitoring the details of the case.
“I’d like to say forget about the legality of the whole thing,” Elikann said. “Just think about the heartbreaking betrayal of all these kids, thinking they’re on that level, and wondering if it’s all a rigged game.”
He continued, “Federal prosecution usually results in something like a 99% conviction rate... I believe something like 1% of all cases charged by the feds actually do go to trial... Almost all of them wind up in plea bargains.”
One of the many examples outlined in the indictment accused Ortiz of rigging his prop bets at Fenway Park in April agains the Red Sox.
The 26-year-old allegedly was on the phone with a bettor at the park moments before he took the mound. The bettor allegedly gambled on the speed of some of Ortiz’s pitches. That bettor reportedly made roughly $11,000.
Elikann said prosecution has become easier in the new, digital age of gambling.
He finished, “Now they can document it much better because the legalized professional sports betting. They have their eyes much more focused on it.”
In light of the arrests, the MLB with the help of their legal gambling partners announced that effective immediately, these hyper-specific prop bets would be capped at $200 per bet.
Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement:
“Since the Supreme Court decision opened the door to legalized sports betting, Major League Baseball has continuously worked with industry and regulatory stakeholders across the country to uphold our most important priority: protecting the integrity of our games for the fans. I commend Ohio Governor DeWine for his leadership on this issue over the last several months. I also commend the industry for working with us to take action on a national solution to address the risks posed by these pitch-level markets, which are particularly vulnerable to integrity concerns. We look forward to continuing to work with all stakeholders, including licensed sports betting operators, elected officials and regulators, to ensure we are always protecting the integrity of our game.”
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