Pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, speaking Spanish, entered not guilty pleas through a translator to a rewritten indictment in Brooklyn federal court. Emmanuel Clase of the Cleveland Guardians arrives at the Brooklyn federal court for a hearing in New York City on Wednesday. Clase, the Guardians’ former closer, and Ortiz, a starter, have been on nondisciplinary paid leave since July last year. Clase and Ortiz, who are free on bail, left the courthouse separately after the hearing. “Mr Clase may have abused his relationship with Mr Ortiz as friends and teammates by convincing Mr Ortiz to throw certain pitches at certain times — ostensibly for baseball reasons as far as Mr Ortiz was aware,” the lawyers wrote.

Source: Taipei Times February 19, 2026 17:22 UTC