Guardians Pitcher Remains on Leave For Sports Betting Investigation

• Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz will remain on non-disciplinary paid leave through August
• The leave is related to a potential investigation tied to gambling
• An investigation is stemming from unusual betting activity on two pitches thrown by Ortiz in two separate games

Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Luis Ortiz will remain on non-disciplinary paid leave through Aug. 31 as he remains the subject of a Major League Baseball gambling investigation.

His leave was scheduled to end on Friday, July 18, but Major League Baseball (MLB) and the MLB Players Association agreed to extend it through August.

The Guardians will continue to cooperate with the investigation and have agreed to the extension.

Unusual Betting Activity

Ortiz went on leave on July 3 as he became the subject of an MLB gambling investigation. A firm that monitors betting activity reported suspicious wagering on two separate pitches thrown by Ortiz during two games he started.

The firm noted suspicious betting volumes on two separate pitches during his June 15 and June 27 starts against the Seattle Mariners and St. Louis Cardinals, respectively.

Larger than normal amounts of money were placed on whether Ortiz would throw a strike or ball in a certain inning.

“MLB and the MLBPA have agreed to extend Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz’s non-disciplinary paid leave through games on Aug. 31 while MLB continues its investigation,” MLB said in a statement.

Another Gambling Investigation for MLB

Major League Baseball has has several gambling and sports betting related incidents over the past several seasons.

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.