The Cleveland Guardians received some unfortunate news on Thursday morning, as starting pitcher Luis Ortiz is being investigated over gambling allegations. Ortiz isn't the first and certainly won't be the last MLB player to face such allegations as the league becomes more intertwined with daily fantasy and betting companies by the season. The Guardians released a statement about the Ortiz investigation.
“The Guardians have been notified by Major League Baseball that Luis Ortiz has been placed on leave per an agreement with the Players Association due to an ongoing league investigation. The Guardians are not permitted to comment further at this time, and will respect the league’s confidential investigative process," the team said.
MLB will not have any further comment until the conclusion of said investigation.
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Luis Ortiz gambling allegations: Everything to know
In the wake of the investigation, Jeff Passan of ESPN provided a report that it was actually two pitches that were flagged by "betting-integrity firm IC360" that were sent to Sportsbooks. The two pitches occurred on June 15 and June 17 in Ortiz's starts against the Mariners and Cardinals, respectively.
According to Passan's sources, both alerts were sent in regards to what is referred as "microbets" that are offered by some books where bettors can place wagers on the result of single pitches, innings, at-bats and so on in professional games. In this instance, the alert was sent in connection to "unusual gambling activity" on whether Ortiz's first pitch of a given inning would be a ball or a hit-by-pitch.
Against the Mariners, that came in the second inning, when he threw the first pitch well outside. It was the first pitch of the third inning against the Cardinals that was flagged for the same type of wager, and the pitch was once again noticeably not close to being in the zone.
Ortiz had been scheduled to start a game agains the Chicago Cubs on Thursday, but was instead placed on administrative leave as the league looks into these investigation. Ortiz would hardly be the first player connected to gambling, which is not allowed per the league's Collective Bargaining Agreement with the MLBPA.
San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano was banned for life, while MLB umpire Pat Hoberg was fired for their connections to gambling in the last few years. Of course, Pete Rose's infamous lifetime ban was recently in the news, as Rob Manfred deemed Rose eligible for Cooperstown after he passed away.
Ortiz was acquired in a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates earlier this season. Since heading to Cleveland, Ortiz has a 4.36 ERA in 16 starts. His best season came with the Bucs in 2024, when he had a 3.32 ERA in 37 appearances.