Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz is the subject of a Major League Baseball gambling investigation and was placed on nondisciplinary leave Thursday, two people with knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press.
The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the nature of the investigation.
The investigation is related to in-game prop bets on two pitches thrown by Ortiz that received higher activity than usual during two of his starts: against the Seattle Mariners on June 15 and in his most recent outing against the St. Louis Cardinals on June 27. The gambling activity on the pitches was flagged by a betting integrity firm and forwarded to MLB.
ESPN reported the firm IC360 recently also sent an alert to sportsbook operators regarding Ortiz. The Athletic was the first to report that Ortiz’s suspension was related to gambling.
MLB said Ortiz’s paid leave is through the end of the midseason break for the MLB All-Star Game, when players return to their teams July 17 and games resume the following day. It can be extended if the investigation remains ongoing.
Chris Antonetti, the president of baseball operations for the Guardians, said before Thursday night’s road game against the Chicago Cubs that the team can continue to have contact with Ortiz, but the pitcher can’t enter any of the team’s facilities. Ortiz returned to Cleveland on Wednesday night.
Ortiz was slated to be the starting pitcher for Thursday night’s series finale at Wrigley Field. Instead, left-hander Joey Cantillo, who was 1-0 with one save and a 3.81 ERA in 21 appearances this season for Cleveland, was recalled from Triple-A Columbus.
Cantillo pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings against the Cubs, allowing two hits and three walks while striking out five batters in a 68-pitch outing. The Guardians used four relievers used four relievers in what wound up being a 1-0 loss in 10 innings.
“We learned very little last night, but knew we needed to get someone here today to start today’s game, and that really was our focus,” Antonetti said ahead of Thursday’s matchup. “A lot has come out today, and that’s far more information than we have.
“Our focus is we’ll let the investigative process play out. To the extent Major League Baseball or anyone needs our support in that, we will obviously cooperate. But beyond that, there’s really not much we can do.”
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said he and Antonetti addressed the team about Ortiz’s situation and tried to answer questions the best they could.
It is another setback for a squad that has dropped a season-high seven straight games and is 9-19 since May 1.
“Honestly, when I got the news yesterday, I didn’t know how to feel,” said Vogt, who led the Guardians to the AL Central Division title last year in his rookie season as an MLB manager. “There’s so much unknowns with this, but you know what? Every team goes through adversity, maybe different kinds, but this is a resilient group.
“I’ve been through situations similar to this before in my career as a player, and what would I have wanted to hear? How would I want the manager to have reacted? And that’s what I’m trying to do.”
The 26-year old Ortiz is in his first season with Cleveland after he was acquired in a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates last December. The right-hander is 4-9 with a 4.36 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 16 starts this season. The nine losses are tied for the most in the American League.
In four MLB seasons, Ortiz is 16-22 with a 4.05 ERA and one save.
The investigation into Ortiz comes a little more than a year after MLB suspended five players for gambling, including a lifetime ban for San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano. MLB said Marcano placed 387 baseball bets totaling more than $150,000 with a legal sportsbook in 2022 and 2023.
Oakland Athletics pitcher Michael Kelly and three minor leaguers — Padres pitcher Jay Groome, Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher and Philadelphia Phillies infielder José Rodríguez — received one-year suspensions.
MLB umpire Pat Hoberg was fired in February for sharing his legal sports gambling accounts with a friend who bet on baseball games and for intentionally deleting electronic messages pertinent to the league’s investigation.