Major League Baseball is investigating Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz over allegations related to gambling, and some new information about the probe has emerged.
Ortiz on Thursday was placed on what MLB called “non-disciplinary paid leave” through at least the All-Star break, which ends on July 18. While the league did not share any details, reports have since revealed that the investigation pertains to gambling.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, a betting-integrity firm flagged two different pitches from Ortiz last month that received unusual gambling activity. The firm, IC360, sent two alerts to sportsbooks in June regarding Ortiz.
The first alert was triggered by wagers placed on whether Ortiz’s first pitch of the bottom of the second inning of Cleveland’s June 15 home game against the Seattle Mariners would result in a ball or hit batsman. The pitch was a slider well outside the strike zone that was called a ball.
The second alert stemmed from the same type of wagering activity on Ortiz’s first pitch of the third inning in the Guardians’ June 27 road game against the St. Louis Cardinals. That pitch was also a slider well outside the strike zone.
The alerts flagged bets at sportsbooks in Ohio, New York and New Jersey, Passan reports.
Ortiz was scheduled to start for Cleveland in Thursday night’s game against the Chicago Cubs. He will be replaced by left-hander Joey Cantillo, who has made 21 appearances out of the bullpen this season.
Ortiz, 26, spent the first three seasons of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates before being traded to the Guardians last winter. He is 4-9 with a 4.36 ERA in 16 starts this season.
MLB has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to gambling on baseball. Last year, San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano was banned from MLB for life after an investigation revealed he placed tens of thousands of dollars in MLB-related wagers. Not long after that, an umpire was fired over a different gambling probe.
Ortiz’s paid leave was an agreement between MLB and the MLB Players Association and could potentially be extended, depending on how long the investigation takes.
