Prosecutor Breaks Down Basic Baseball Rules for Jury in Emmanuel Clase Pitch-Rigging Trial

Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Urquiola began opening statements in Brooklyn federal court by defining balls, strikes, and outs for the jury before outlining how individual pitches serve as betting markets on platforms like FanDuel and DraftKings.

The unusual instructional moment set the stage for a high-stakes federal trial centered on America’s pastime and modern sports gambling.

Addressing the jury box on Wednesday, Urquiola stripped the sport down to its most elementary components.

“Baseball is a competition between two teams where the pitcher for one team throws a ball to the batter of the other team,” Urquiola told jurors.

She systematically explained how a pitcher delivers the ball toward home plate.

She described the strike zone and clarified what constitutes an official strike.

She defined what makes a pitch a ball when it misses that designated target area.

She walked the jurors through how three strikes make an out and how three outs retire a side.

Urquiola noted that the unpredictability of every delivery is what makes the sport captivating to millions.

“Baseball is thrilling because nobody knows what happens next,” Urquiola told the court.

She then pivoted from the historic integrity of the game to the lucrative modern betting systems that surround it.

“Each pitch is also a market for sports betting,” Urquiola explained.

THE RISE OF MICRO-BETTING

The federal prosecutor used her opening statement to show how sports wagering technology has evolved far beyond picking winners and losers.

Modern digital betting applications now generate rapid, pitch-by-pitch wagering options known as micro-markets.

Fans and bettors using smartphone apps can place money on isolated events that occur in seconds.

Urquiola highlighted how platforms such as FanDuel and DraftKings allow users to wager on individual pitch outcomes in real time.

Customers can place wagers on whether an upcoming throw will be called a ball or a strike.

Users can also bet on the recorded velocity of a specific fastball, breaking ball, or off-speed delivery.

In conventional baseball, these outcomes are determined by athletic skill, umpire judgment, and split-second swings.

Prosecutors allege that Cleveland Guardians relievers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz subverted that randomness for personal profit.

Urquiola directly labeled both professional pitchers as “cheaters” who systematically “sold their pitches.”

“They told their friends what pitches they would throw before the game ever started,” Urquiola told the jury.

According to the prosecution, those prearranged deliveries turned individual pitches into guaranteed payouts for co-conspirators.

THE ACCUSED RELIEVERS AND THEIR CHARGES

Clase, 28, and Ortiz, 27, sat in the Brooklyn courtroom facing serious federal felony charges.

Both pitchers are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, honest services fraud, sports bribery offenses, and money laundering.

A third defendant, Robinson Vasquez Germosen, is also on trial alongside the two major league players.

Prosecutors accuse Germosen of acting as a bettor who used inside information provided by the pitchers to submit winning wagers.

Clase and Ortiz were arrested by federal authorities in November 2025.

Both relievers have pleaded not guilty to the conspiracy charges.

Since their arrests, both players have remained free on bail while awaiting the start of their trial.

Major League Baseball and the Guardians placed both pitchers on non-disciplinary leave without pay as the federal prosecution proceeds.

Clase was in the fourth season of a lucrative five-year, $20 million contract when federal investigators moved in.

Federal prosecutors stated that bettors accumulated at least $400,000 on platforms from pitches thrown by Clase between 2023 and 2025.

In another portion of her remarks, Urquiola noted gamblers reaped at least $460,000 across digital platforms from the insider setup.

THE ALLEGED SCHEME AND SECRET CODES

The government claims the corrupt operation began early in 2023 in the Dominican Republic.

Urquiola said Clase befriended a sports gambler there who shared his personal interests in dominoes and cockfighting.

Cockfighting remains legal in the Dominican Republic, where both men spent offseason time.

According to Urquiola, Clase noticed that gamblers were successfully profiting off the outcomes of his major league appearances.

The star closer allegedly decided that simply watching acquaintances profit was no longer satisfactory.

“He wanted a cut, too,” Urquiola told the jury during her presentation.

“Clase agreed to throw rigged pitches for kickbacks, and that’s exactly what happened,” the prosecutor alleged.

Urquiola stated that Clase “decided it wasn’t enough to help his friends make money,” demanding direct financial payments.

Clase allegedly agreed to dictate his pitch selection on predetermined counts to ensure winning bets.

The pitcher is accused of manipulating first pitches at the beginning of specific innings from 2023 through 2025.

Prosecutors allege he agreed to deliberately throw balls and slower sliders rather than his usual strikes and high-speed cutters.

In other instances, Urquiola said Clase put his thumb on the scale by purposely throwing a strike instead of a ball.

To mask their communications, Clase and his associates allegedly utilized coded language in text messages.

Urquiola revealed that texts referenced “chickens” and “roosters” to give outside observers the impression they were discussing cockfighting matches.

The indictment also alleges that during at least one game, Clase used his mobile phone to actively coordinate with bettors.

ORTIZ ENTERS THE FOLD

As the alleged operation expanded, prosecutors claim Clase recruited another arm from the Guardians’ bullpen.

“Then Clase brought in a partner, his fellow teammate and pitcher, Luis Ortiz,” Urquiola told the court.

Ortiz allegedly entered the gambling arrangement later, joining the conspiracy in June 2025.

Federal prosecutors charge Ortiz with rigging two specific pitches during game action.

According to the prosecution, Ortiz intentionally spiked both of those pitches directly into the dirt to guarantee they were called balls.

Prosecutors claim the two Guardians teammates established their own cover stories to explain incoming payments.

Urquiola told jurors the pitchers fabricated a story about buying and selling a horse to justify transfers of cash.

THE DEFENSE RESPONDS: THE MARK AND THE CON MAN

Attorneys representing Clase and Ortiz presented a starkly different narrative during their opening remarks.

The defense maintained that both players are completely innocent of the federal charges.

Defense attorney Bronson told the jury that Clase was targeted, manipulated, and framed by an experienced gambler.

Bronson identified that man as 41-year-old Enoc Pena, whom Clase met in the spring of 2023.

At the time of their initial meeting, Clase was a 25-year-old athlete navigating rapid wealth and fame.