The federal fraud lawsuit against Cleveland pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz could be delayed until the baseball season ends, after both players pleaded not guilty in New York this week.
Farm-Animal Code Words Surface in Baseball Fraud Probe
At a hearing in Brooklyn, US District Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto hinted that the trial now set for early May will shift to fall. The court asked the prosecution and defense to discuss a new schedule, with October showing up as a possible time that would come after the Major League Baseball season wraps up, as reported by Cleveland.com.
Two Cleveland Guardians players face accusations of taking part in a plot to control specific pitches to help gamblers win bets. The prosecutors say this scheme allowed gambling partners in the Dominican Republic to make money from bets on how fast and where pitches would go, and what would happen after them. The investigators believe the group made hundreds of thousands of dollars through these wagers, while the players got smaller amounts of cash in exchange.
A new indictment came out last week. It did not add more charges but gave more details on how the alleged scheme worked. Officials claim that coded messages about farm animals told pitchers how to throw. For instance, before a game with the Cincinnati Reds, prosecutors say some messages meant to throw a pitch outside the strike zone. They also say that in another game, someone used a phone in the bullpen. This let gamblers guess what kind of pitch was coming, and they could win bets.
Ortiz’s Defense Pushes for Separate Trials
A third person, Robinson Vasquez Germosen, also says he did not do anything wrong. Prosecutors call him a go-between. They say he helped players talk to bettors and managed the flow of information.
Ortiz’s lawyers want his trial to be separate from Clase’s. They claim the proof shows he took part in a few questionable pitches and might have been tricked by another player. The prosecutors do not want to split the trials. They say that just because the defendants disagree, this is not enough reason to hold different court cases.
Both pitchers have been on paid time off since last summer while Major League Baseball keeps looking into the matter. They are out on bail and chose not to talk to reporters after the court meeting.If the court pushes the trial to October, attorneys on both sides would get extra months to examine a huge set of digital evidence, including texts, audio files, and video clips. The result could affect not just the players’ futures but also baseball’s wider plans for protection against gambling-related cheating.
