New York — A fraud trial is scheduled for the spring for two Cleveland Guardians shooters Charged with collusion with sports bettors Betting rigging and betrayal of “America’s Pastime” will likely be postponed until October, a federal judge said Wednesday, as the men pleaded not guilty in the rewritten indictment.
Judge QA Matsumoto has left a trial date of May 4 for now, but indicated she will likely move it to the fall in the coming weeks.
The shooters, Emanuel Kallas and Luis Ortiz, who speak Spanish, pleaded not guilty through a translator to the rewritten indictment in Brooklyn federal court.
There were no new charges in the superseding indictment unsealed Friday, as prosecutors accused a third person of acting as an intermediary between the bookmakers and Klass. That person also pleaded not guilty on Wednesday.
The shooters were first accused in November of accepting several thousand dollars in bonuses to help two gamblers from their native Dominican Republic win at least $460,000 by placing more than 100 in-game prop bets and bonuses on the speed and scores of certain pitches. Charges include conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to influence athletic competitions.
The rewritten indictment, released Friday, added allegations that Klass used code words such as “rooster” and “chicken” in communications regarding pitches to be thrown.
Before a May 18, 2025, game against the Cincinnati Reds, Klass received a message to “throw a rock at the first rooster in today’s fight” and responded with the following: “Yes, of course, that’s an easy throw for that rooster,” the indictment said. She added that Klass never entered the game and was unable to execute a throwing plan outside the strike zone for the first batter he faced.
But the day before, Klass violated Major League Baseball rules by using his cellphone in the middle of a game against the Reds to signal to gamblers that the ballpark would be outside the strike zone, enabling them to win about $27,000, the indictment said.
Klass, a former Guardians closer, and Ortiz, a starter, have been on paid non-disciplinary leave since July. Their teammates have just started training camp for the new season. The team’s home opener will be April 3.
Klass and Ortiz, who were released on bail, left the courtroom separately after Wednesday’s hearing. He did not comment. Lawyers for both men insisted their clients never colluded with gamblers.
Ortiz’s lawyers asked to be tried separately, saying in court papers that if Claeys passed on Ortiz’s strategy of promoting gamblers, he did so without Ortiz’s knowledge. They also noted that Ortiz was accused of throwing only two scrutinized pitches over a 12-day period, while Claes was accused of colluding with gamblers at multiple pitches since 2023.
“Mr. Klaas may have abused his relationship with Mr. Ortiz as friends and teammates by convincing Mr. Ortiz to throw certain pitches at certain times — for ostensible baseball reasons to the best of Mr. Ortiz’s knowledge,” the attorneys wrote.
They said they might present a defense to the jury that would portray “Ortiz as a victim of Mr. Klass’s scheme, rather than an informed and willing participant.”
Klass, a three-time All-Star, will earn a salary of $4.5 million in 2025, the fourth season of the series. $20 million, five-year contract. Prosecutors say he began providing bettors with information about his offers in 2023, but did not seek payouts until last year.
Ortiz, who earned a salary of $782,600 last season, joined the scheme last June, prosecutors said.
The Guardians and the MLB League said they are cooperating with the investigation. MLB said it contacted federal law enforcement when it began investigating unusual betting activity.