MLB commissioner addresses sport's illegal gambling scandal, will cooperate with Congress on investigation

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Wednesday that the league volition cooperate with the U.S. Senate committee’s petition for documents detailing gambling investigations. 

"We’re going to respond afloat and cooperatively and connected clip to the Senate inquiry," Manfred said during a quality league astatine an owners meeting.

The athletics has been rocked by a ungraded involving Cleveland Guardians players Emanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, who are accused of aiding gamblers by taking bribes to rig pitches.

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MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred speaks during the archetypal circular of the MLB shot draught Sunday, July, 13, 2025, successful Atlanta, Georgia.  (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Sens. Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee sent a missive Monday to Manfred asking for accusation by Dec. 5. 

The committee is asking for responses to six questions by Dec. 5.

1. "How and erstwhile was MLB made alert of suspicious betting and crippled manipulation enactment by Emmanuel Clase oregon Luis Ortiz? Provide documents capable to enactment your response?"
2. "Provide documents capable to amusement MLB’s policies and procedures relating to sports betting, gambling, oregon crippled rigging by MLB oregon an affiliated team’s players, coaches, employees, oregon owners."
3. "List immoderate probe into an MLB oregon affiliate team’s players, coaches, employees, oregon owners for violating MLB rules relating to sports betting, gambling, oregon crippled rigging oregon related transgression behaviour betwixt January 1, 2020, and the present."
4. "Provide each documents related to immoderate probe listed successful effect to Request 3, including:Procedures and policies utilized to behaviour immoderate applicable investigation;Documents received by 3rd parties oregon different collected by MLB during immoderate applicable investigation; andFindings, conclusions, and actions taken arsenic a effect of immoderate applicable investigation."
5. Procedures and policies utilized to behaviour immoderate applicable investigation;
6. Documents received by 3rd parties oregon different collected by MLB during immoderate applicable investigation; and
7. Findings, conclusions, and actions taken arsenic a effect of immoderate applicable investigation."
8. "Provide communications betwixt MLB and immoderate sports betting level oregon sports gambling integrity show regarding suspicious oregon flagged sports wagers:Placed by MLB’s oregon an affiliated team’s players, coaches, employees, oregon owners; orPlaced connected MLB games oregon propositions related to MLB games, players, oregon teams."
9. Placed by MLB’s oregon an affiliated team’s players, coaches, employees, oregon owners; or
10. Placed connected MLB games oregon propositions related to MLB games, players, oregon teams."
11. "Explain the grade to which MLB has addressed and plans to further code the alleged instances of sports betting, gambling, and crippled rigging that person occurred including:How, if astatine all, MLB plans to revise its rules, policies, procedures, oregon enforcement structure;How, if astatine all, MLB plans to revise oregon enforce its rules relating to cellphone usage during games; andHow MLB plans to guarantee players, employees, coaches, and owners bash not person ties to organized crime."
12. How, if astatine all, MLB plans to revise its rules, policies, procedures, oregon enforcement structure;
13. How, if astatine all, MLB plans to revise oregon enforce its rules relating to cellphone usage during games; and
14. How MLB plans to guarantee players, employees, coaches, and owners bash not person ties to organized crime."

Two days aft the indictments were unsealed connected Nov. 9, MLB said its authorized gaming operators volition headdress bets connected idiosyncratic pitches astatine $200 and exclude them from parlays.

"We deliberation the steps we’ve taken successful presumption of limiting the size of these prop bets and prohibiting parlays disconnected them is simply a really, truly important alteration that should trim the inducement for anyone to beryllium progressive successful an inappropriate way," Manfred said.

MLB CRACKS DOWN WITH NEW BETTING LIMIT AFTER CLEVELAND PITCHERS CHARGED IN GAMBLING SCHEME

Sens. Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee sent a missive Monday to Manfred asking for accusation by Dec. 5.  (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

Manfred said MLB’s interior probe into the Cleveland pitchers didn’t person a timetable. Ortiz was placed connected paid permission connected July 3 and Clase connected July 28. 

"We deliberation that we should instrumentality vantage of the offseason to marque definite that we behaviour the astir thorough and implicit probe possible," helium said. 

Both Ortiz and Clase person pleaded not guilty. 

Clase and Ortiz were arrested and appeared successful national tribunal successful New York past week. Clase, a three-time All-Star, pleaded not blameworthy to charges that helium took bribes to assistance gamblers triumph wealth connected his pitches. Ortiz besides pleaded not blameworthy to the charges.

Officials said successful the indictment that, from May 2023 to June 2025, Clase agreed with 1 co-conspirator to "throw circumstantial pitches successful definite MLB games" truthful that the bettors they were allegedly partnered with "would nett from amerciable wagers made based connected that wrong information." Ortiz allegedly joined the strategy successful June 2025.

The indictment said Clase conferred with 1 bettor to propulsion a shot connected the archetypal transportation of an at-bat erstwhile helium was brought into games successful relief. The indictment pointed to instances successful circumstantial games, including May 19, 2023, vs. the New York Mets; June 2, 2023, vs. the Minnesota Twins; and June 7, 2023, vs. the Boston Red Sox.

Clase allegedly began to petition and person bribes and kickback payments for agreeing to propulsion the circumstantial pitches successful April, according to the indictment. In 1 instance, the indictment said, Clase utilized his telephone successful the mediate of a crippled to coordinate with a bettor connected a transportation helium would throw.

Bettors allegedly won $400,000 from betting platforms connected pitches thrown by Clase betwixt 2023 and 2025.

When Ortiz allegedly joined the scheme, the indictment said, helium agreed to propulsion balls implicit strikes connected definite pitches successful speech for bribes oregon kickbacks. He allegedly agreed to propulsion a shot connected June 15 against the Seattle Mariners for astir $5,000 successful his archetypal transportation successful the 2nd inning.

The indictment said Ortiz agreed to propulsion a shot successful his archetypal transportation of the 3rd inning connected June 27 against the St. Louis Cardinals for $7,000. In June 2025, bettors won astatine slightest $60,000 connected pitches thrown by Ortiz.

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Cleveland Guardians pitchers Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase's permission was extended indefinitely connected Aug. 31, 2025. (IMAGN/AP)

The indictment announcement came weeks aft 3 NBA figures were swept up successful an FBI cognition involving amerciable gambling. Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier and Damon Jones were among the much than 2 twelve arrested successful the scheme.

Fox News Digital's Ryan Gaydos and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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