Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz was placed on leave Thursday amid an MLB investigation, the team announced.
Ortiz is the latest Major Leaguer alleged to have wagered on MLB games.
The Guardians placed the 26-year-old right-hander on paid leave as the MLB investigates potential gambling infractions. Ortiz was scheduled to start Thursday night’s series finale against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, but the league announced Thursday morning that he’s been “placed on non-disciplinary paid leave through the end of the All-Star break due to an MLB investigation.”
According to ESPN, “a betting-integrity firm flagged a pair of pitches that had received unusual gambling activity” in June, sparking the probe.
An alert from IC360, distributed to sportsbook operators, specifically “referenced action on the Guardians pitcher’s first pitches in select innings to be a ball or a hit batsman in two games: June 15 against the Seattle Mariners and June 27 against the St. Louis Cardinals.”
In both instances, the report noted, “Ortiz threw a first-pitch slider that was well outside the strike zone” — first in the bottom of the second inning against Seattle, and again in the top of the third against St. Louis.
In the meantime, social media has been looking for evidence of its own.
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Before those games were mentioned above, Luis Ortiz faced the New York Yankees at home on June 4.
In the top of the 5th inning and down 4-1, Ortiz could be seen delivering a nasty pitch that would fool the batter and strike him out. Most pitchers would be thrilled. Not Ortiz.
He turned around and could be heard screaming, “F–k” really loud.
Just realized he screamed “fuck” after striking him out ?????
— KutterIsKing (@KutterIsKing) July 3, 2025
Yeah he’s guilty 😭😭😭😭😭 https://t.co/N2yW6auFOZ pic.twitter.com/NQvjdnrWAL
The Guardians entered Thursday 40-44, 14 games out of the AL Central, though they were only four games back of the third AL wild-card spot.
Luis Ortiz Is Unlikely To Play Again In 2025
Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Luis Ortiz has been placed on paid leave over a reported MLB investigation into gambling.
Ortiz’s non-disciplinary leave is scheduled to run through the MLB All-Star break, with games resuming for the second half on July 18.
Ortiz is in his first season with the Guardians, who acquired him in an offseason trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Depending on how this investigation goes, Ortiz is unlikely to see the field for the remainder of the 2025 season.
