New details emerge on Guardians’ Luis Ortiz’s MLB investigation into gambling

Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz made headlines after he was placed on leave on Thursday. The starting pitcher was reportedly under investigation ahead of his start against the Chicago Cubs.

ESPN insider Jeff Passan shared the details later in the day, reporting the right-handed pitcher is under Major League Baseball investigation for gambling. According to Passan, betting-integrity firm IC360 flagged two pitchers from the Guardians ace, sending an alert to sportsbook operators this month.

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The pitches under investigation were thrown by Ortiz in June. One of them was against the Seattle Mariners on June 15, while the other against the St. Louis Cardinals on June 27. On both occasions, Ortiz missed the strike zone glaringly with his slider.

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"The Guardians have been notified that Luis Ortiz has been placed on leave per an agreement with the Players Association due to an ongoing league investigation," the team said in a statement. "The Guardians are not permitted to comment further at this time and will respect the league's confidential investigative process."

Luis Ortiz, who's in his first season with the Guardians, has been placed on "non-disciplinary paid leave" until July 17. After arriving from the Pittsburgh Pirates as part of a three-team trade, Ortiz is 4-9 for the season with a 4.36 ERA. His suspension comes with the team in need of pitching depth amid a six-game losing streak.

Guardians manager address Luis Ortiz's investigation

Guardians manager Stephen Vogt addressed the situation surrounding his starting pitcher ahead of Thursday's game against the Chicago Cubs.

"We talked to the team,” Vogt said. “We gave them the information that we had. The stuff you’ve read about is all the information we had. We felt it was important to address the team. This is what the situation is. This is how we’re going to handle it. And try to answer any questions.”

With the team in need of a starting pitcher against the Cubs, the Guardians recalled lefty Joey Cantillo from Triple-A Columbus to replace Ortiz.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash