Cleveland Guardians Pitcher Placed on Leave For Potential Gambling Investigation

• The Cleveland Guardians announced pitcher Luis Ortiz has been placed on leave
• According to The Athletic, the leave is related to a potential investigation tied to gambling
• Ortiz was scheduled to pitch tonight against the Chicago Cubs

Another MLB athlete may be under investigation for reasons tied to gambling.

The Cleveland Guardians announced today that pitcher Luis Ortiz, who was scheduled to start tonight against the Chicago Cubs, has been placed on leave “per an agreement with the Players Association due to an ongoing league investigation.”

According to The Athletic, the investigation is related to gambling.

Guardians Not Commenting

The Cleveland Guardians today announced the investigation on social media. The announcement read the following:

“The Guardians have been notified by Major League Baseball that Luis Ortiz has been placed on leave per an agreement with the Players Association due to an ongoing league investigation. The Guardians are not permitted to comment further at this time, and will respect the league’s confidential investigative process.”

Ortiz was scheduled to pitch tonight against the Chicago Cubs. Joey Cantillo has been promoted from the Guardians Triple-A team to make his start instead.

However, The Athletic reports multiple sources have said the investigation is gambling related. No details on the investigation or his potential actions were shared.

Not First Gambling Incident for MLB

Major League Baseball has has several gambling and sports betting related incidents. In June 2024, MLB banned San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano for life after he was found to have placed hundreds of bets on baseball, including his own team, from Oct. 16, 2022, through Nov. 1, 2023. Four other players were suspended for one year for also betting on baseball.

Betting data showed Marcano placed 387 baseball bets from Oct. 16, 2022, through Nov. 1, 2023. In total, Marcano placed more than $150,000 on baseball, with $87,319 of that total on MLB-related bets. Of these bets, 25 in total involved the Pittsburgh Pirates while Marcano was assigned to the team.

However, Marcano did not appear in any of the games he bet on, as he was on the injured list for a season-ending knee injury on July 24, 2023.

Major league player Michael Kelly (Oakland Athletics pitcher) and Minor League players Jay Groome (Padres pitcher), José Rodríguez (Philadelphia Phillies infielder) and Andrew Saalfrank (Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher), were also suspended for one year by MLB.

The league also investigated umpire Pat Hoberg during 2024 spring training for a possible violation of the league’s sports betting policies. The league cited that Hoberg did not compromise or manipulate any games, but determined that discipline is warranted.

Hoberg was eventually fired in February 2025 after it was found he shared a betting account with a friend who placed wagers on baseball games.