Guardians' Emmanuel Clase arrested by FBI at JFK Airport for alleged role in gambling scheme

Fox News correspondent Madison Scarpino reports on the latest sports scandal, this time involving Major League Baseball on 'Fox Report.'

Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase was arrested by FBI agents at JFK Airport on Thursday and is currently in federal custody, Fox News Digital has learned. Clase was indicted on charges related to an alleged gambling scheme to rig bets on games during the MLB season, alongside his Cleveland teammate Luis Ortiz.

Clase was traveling to New York from the Dominican Republic, and was scheduled to be arraigned at a federal court in Brooklyn. 

At his hearing, Clase pleaded not guilty to charges that he took bribes to help gamblers win bets on his pitches. He was released on $600,000 bond, surrendered his passport and was ordered to limit his travel to New York and Ohio, refrain from gambling and submit to GPS monitoring.

"Emmanuel Clase has devoted his life to baseball and doing everything in his power to help his team win," Clase's lawyer, Michael Ferrara, said in an emailed statement Wednesday.

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Emmanuel Clase #48 of the Cleveland Guardians reacts after a home run during the eighth inning against the New York Yankees during Game Three of the American League Championship Series at Progressive Field on Oct. 17, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio.  (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Officials said in the indictment that, from May 2023 to June 2025, Clase agreed with one co-conspirator to "throw specific pitches in certain MLB games" so that the bettors they were allegedly partnered with "would profit from illegal wagers made based on that inside information." Ortiz allegedly joined the scheme in June 2025.

The indictment said Clase conferred with one