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A government witness in the federal trial of Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz testified that the inside information he used to bet on Clase pitches in 2023 stopped becoming available the following season as scrutiny increased after the Shohei Ohtani interpreter gambling scandal.
Luis de Aza Baez told jurors he placed dozens of bets on the velocity of selected Clase pitches and won thousands of dollars “because I had inside information.”
Clase is accused of conspiring with bettors to rig 18 pitches across three seasons. He and Ortiz have pleaded not guilty to federal charges tied to the alleged scheme.
De Aza Baez said that when he sought more information in 2024, he was told that because of “what was going on with Ohtani, there was no more information like that.”
The comment referred to Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s former interpreter, who pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers star to cover gambling debts. Mizuhara is serving a 57-month prison sentence, while Ohtani was cleared of wrongdoing.
Witness Details How the Tips Were Shared
As ESPN reports, De Aza Baez said Enoc Pena, an associate of Clase, began providing him with information in 2023.
The tips were often shared through a group chat called “Uber Inc.,” which included other men connected to the case who were working as ride-share drivers in Massachusetts.
De Aza Baez said Clase never gave him information directly.
Prosecutors showed jurors a September 30, 2023 message allegedly sent by Clase to Pena that referred to “killing the first two chickens.”
De Aza Baez testified that the phrase meant bettors should wager on a Clase pitch to the third batter of an inning if he had retired the first two. Clase did not appear in that game.
Clase’s defense has argued that references to chickens and roosters concerned cockfighting, which is legal in the Dominican Republic.
De Aza Baez also said he met Clase at a birthday party in Winthrop, Massachusetts, in April 2023 after Pena and co-defendant Robinson Vásquez Germosen brought the pitcher to the gathering.
Witness Agrees to Forfeit $69,000
De Aza Baez told the court that he “almost always” won when betting with information supplied through Pena.
He acknowledged opening a DraftKings account under his wife’s name to increase the amount he could wager and said he also placed Clase-related bets in parlays.
Under his cooperation agreement, De Aza Baez agreed to forfeit $69,000 in winnings linked to Clase bets. Prosecutors agreed to drop a wire fraud charge if he testified truthfully.
Another government witness, Edward Canario, said he received betting tips from co-defendant Luis Arismendy Paca Méndez and shared proceeds from winning bets with him.
Paca Méndez has pleaded not guilty and is not participating in the current trial after being extradited from the Dominican Republic to the US on October 19.
Clase, Ortiz and Vásquez have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy charges involving wire and honest services fraud, sports bribery and money laundering.
Vásquez’s attorney Todd Spodek said after the hearing:
“Our defense is the same today as it was in opening: This is a case about big talk and small bets,”
He added:
“We’re confident leaving that judgment to the jury.”
Mizuhara Case Changed Betting Climate
De Aza Baez’s testimony connected the end of the alleged information flow with the wider scrutiny that followed the Mizuhara case in 2024.
Mizuhara’s conduct became public after reports showed that millions of dollars had moved from Ohtani’s bank account to an illegal bookmaking operation.
According to De Aza Baez, the heightened attention surrounding that case coincided with the point at which the pitch information stopped reaching him.
The trial is being heard in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn. Prosecutors are continuing to present their case, and the proceedings are scheduled to resume Thursday after a five-day break.
Former Guardians catcher Bo Naylor has also testified.
The case now centers on whether prosecutors can prove that Clase, Ortiz and their alleged associates deliberately manipulated pitches and passed information to bettors in advance.
