CLEVELAND, Ohio — MLB is expected to extend Guardians’ right-hander Luis Ortiz’s leave of absence past Friday’s original deadline. By doing so, MLB is expected to continue its investigation into the gambling allegations against Ortiz.
On July 3, MLB announced that Ortiz in agreement with the MLB Players Association was being placed on a non-disciplinary leave of absence through the All-Star break while it investigated him.
It was later confirmed by league sources that Ortiz was being investigated for possible involvement in gambling while he was pitching for the Guardians.
The investigation was set to run through Friday, the end of the All-Star break. Ortiz’s leave and the investigation will now continue past Friday.
The information on Ortiz, according to league sources and ESPN, came from legal bookmakers who were informed by IC360, a betting-integrity firm, about unusual activity among bettors making “prop bets” or “micro bets” on two pitches, both sliders, that Ortiz threw in June.
The first slider was on June 15 to Seattle’s Randy Arozarena to start the second inning. It was a ball in the dirt that led to a walk and a five-run inning.
The second slider was on June 27 against St. Louis. Ortiz started the third inning against Pedro Pages with a slider in the dirt that bounced all the way to the backstop. Pages hit a home run later in the at-bat as the Cardinals scored three runs in the inning.
The unusual betting activity included whether Ortiz’s first pitches in those innings would result in a ball or hit batsman
MLB issued this statement regarding Ortiz when he was placed on paid leave:
“Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz has been placed on non-disciplinary paid leave through the end of the All-Star break due to an MLB investigation. We will not comment further until the investigation has been completed.”
The agreement allowed Ortiz to continue to receive his salary and service time during the investigation. Ortiz did not count on the Guardians’ 40- or 26-man rosters.
For those unfamiliar with gambling terminology, a prop bet, short for proposition bet, is a wager placed on a specific event or outcome within a game, but it’s not directly tied to the final score or the overall result.
It can be based on an individual player’s performance. For instance, how many strikeouts will a pitcher record in one game? Will it be over or under eight?
MLB is investigating Ortiz to see if he influenced prop bets while he was pitching.
Last year MLB suspended five players for gambling-related violations. San Diego’s Tucupita Marcano was banned for life, while Oakland’s Michael Kelly and minor leaguers Jay Groome, Jose Rodriguez and Andrew Saalfrank were suspended for a year.
Kelly, who is back in the big leagues this year with Oakland, pitched for Cleveland in 2023.
The Guardians acquired Ortiz in a deal with Pittsburgh at the winter meetings in December. He is 4-9 with a 4.36 ERA in 16 starts this season.
Left-hander Joey Cantillo has taken Ortiz’s spot in the rotation. He opened the year in the bullpen with the Guardians but was optioned to Triple-A Columbus to get stretched out as a starter.
MLB’s basic agreement contains several rules prohibiting gambling. Here are some of the key ones:
- No betting on baseball: Major League Players are prohibited from betting on any professional or amateur baseball games or events, including Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball, international, college, high school, and youth games. This also includes betting on outcomes within games (e.g., specific pitches, at-bats), All-Star games, Home Run Derbies, postseason qualification, player performance, transactions, or the draft.
- Indirect betting: Players may not ask others to place bets on their behalf, knowingly benefit financially from, or knowingly assist with bets placed by others on baseball games or events.
- Fantasy baseball games: Players are prohibited from participating in full-season, partial season, or daily fantasy baseball games where prize money or other things of value are available. They also cannot assist others in such games or arrange for others to participate on their behalf.
- Illegal Betting: Players are not permitted to place illegal bets on any sport or event, which includes bets made with illegal bookmakers or offshore betting websites/applications.
- Game Fixing: Players are prohibited from intentionally influencing or manipulating any baseball game or event’s outcome or any aspect of it, to be determined by anything other than its merits.
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