All-Star pitcher on leave amid MLB sports gambling probe
Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase has been temporarily benched by Major League Baseball due to his alleged role in a sports gambling investigation, the team announced.
The fourth-best closer in the league, with 24 saves in 48 games pitched to date this season, was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave through Aug. 31, ESPN first reported Monday.
Clase is the second Guardians player impacted by the betting probe, just weeks after his teammate and right-hander Luis Ortiz was placed on the same leave starting July 3.
In a statement, the Guardians said "We have been informed that no additional players or club personnel are expected to be impacted" by the investigation.
"I'm not happy. This stinks," Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said in a pregame interview before the team's Monday night loss to the Colorado Rockies. "It's a different part of our game now because it's legal. Two of our guys are being investigated and it hurts. It's an unfortunate situation."
Per ESPN sources, a betting integrity firm noticed unusual gambling activity on two pitches that Ortiz threw for balls.
The first was an outside wild pitch to Seattle Mariners left fielder Randy Arozarena on June 15, followed by another outside pitch to Cardinals catcher Pedro Pagés on June 27, ESPN's sources said.
The bets under investigation in the Ortiz case were placed on whether or not an individual pitch would be a ball instead of a strike, according to the sources.
Ortiz's leave was extended to Aug. 31.
A representative from the agency that represents Clase did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment; Ortiz's agent told ABC News they had no comment at this time.
With an explosion of at-home sports betting and convenient access on mobile apps and desktop platforms, bettors playing are frequently buying into smaller prop bets.
"Prop bets are more of the micro bets, versus the big macro bets on which team is going to win and by how many runs," ESPN baseball commentator Karl Ravech told "Good Morning America."
"Baseball, similarly, has all sorts of situations -- and I'll be honest, in sports, there are literally hundreds of things that you could eventually gamble on," he added.
Thirty-nine states, plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, have legalized sports betting in some form, according to RG.org, a sports-focused independent media and research platform.
Both online and retail sports betting are legal in DC for those over 18 years old, with sportsbooks like FanDuel and DraftKings both operating in the district.
A source told ESPN that the investigation "has not turned up information tying other players with the team to sports gambling."
