MLB Places Guardians' Clase, Ortiz on Unpaid Leave
The MLB and MLBPA agreement will move the pair from paid leave, which they had been on since July.
Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here . Major League Baseball has announced that Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, the two Cleveland Guardians pitchers at the center of a pitch-fixing scandal, have been placed on unpaid leave.
The players have been on paid leave since July. Key Takeaways MLB has placed Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz on unpaid leave. Both players were previously on paid leave and face federal charges tied to alleged pitch fixing.
Prosecutors allege the pitchers accepted bribes to influence bets, with the trial set to begin at some point later this year. “As the legal proceedings involving Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz continue to move forward, MLB and the MLBPA have agreed that both players will remain on non-disciplinary leave from the Club without pay until further notice,” MLB said in a statement released Friday. Clase, 28, and Ortiz, 27, did not pitch the second half of last season and were indicted on federal charges in early November.
Trial is set for May 5, but is anticipated to be delayed until the fall. “This agreement is not an admission of any wrongdoing by Clase or Ortiz,” read the statement. “MLB has been closely monitoring the matter since alerting federal law enforcement at the outset of its investigation and will have no further comment until its investigation has been completed.