The charges against Emmanuel Klaas appear to be much more serious than previously known.
The Cleveland Guardians closer is accused of manipulating pitches in 48 different MLB games over two years, according to a court document, according to ESPN’s David Purdum. That’s far more than the nine specific games identified in federal indictments last year.
advertise
Including playoff games, Klass played in 178 games between May 2023 and June 2025, which is the schedule of the program alleged by prosecutors. If the 48-game number is correct, that means Klass threw questionable pitches (i.e., intentional pitches, allegedly to help his co-conspirators win their bets) in 27 percent of the games he played for the Guardians during that span.
That number reportedly comes from Klass’ co-defendant and Guardians teammate Luis Ortiz, who is accused of rigging just two pitches in June 2025. Ortiz was first implicated in the scandal, but his attorneys are now reportedly asking that his case be separated from Klass’s because of “clearly different levels of culpability.”
Basically, Ortiz’s camp argued that the case against Klass was so overwhelming that sitting with the same defendant hurt his case. From ESPN:
In Thursday’s filing, Ortiz’s attorneys pointed to this disparity in scale and emphasized that the indictment contains no evidence that Ortiz communicated directly with bettors.
Joe Gallis argued that the jury presented “Mr. Klass’ alleged criminal conduct over a 26-month period, including questionable pitches in 48 games, [a bettor]cash transfer and illegal wagering coordination” could lead to related charges against Ortiz.
Another court transcript reportedly shows a judge asking prosecutors to provide Klass’s attorneys with evidence of the dubious pitch:
“[Clase] Having identified at least 250 pitches on which bets were placed, the court encouraged the government to disclose the findings to [Clase] as to anything else contained in his alleged conspiracy,” court proceedings state.
Klass and Ortiz were indicted in November on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to influence sports competitions through bribery. They have all pleaded not guilty to the charges, which carry up to decades in prison.
advertise
Their trial is scheduled for May.
Pitchers officially remain members of the Guardian organization but remain on the restricted list (i.e., unpaid leave). In addition to jail time, they face lifetime bans from baseball games, pending an investigation by Major League Baseball into the allegations.
Klaas is said to have accomplished all of this despite being one of the top closers in baseball and having a contract that will pay him $6.4 million in 2026 and has two team options in 2027 and 2028 worth $10 million each.
