Clase trial: FBI testimony links co-conspirators’ nightlife, dominoes and alleged pitch betting

An FBI special agent this week laid out evidence tying Emmanuel Clase’s social circle to the alleged pitch-rigging scheme now being heard in Brooklyn federal court. For high-risk payment and betting operators, the relevant part is simple: the case is built around micro-bets on individual pitches, not just game outcomes.

1. Over the first two weeks of the trial, jurors have seen multiple videos of the Major League Baseball All-Star reliever in relaxed settings with friends, including one clip shown Thursday in which Clase drank from a bottle of Presidente while playing dominoes at a table marked with a Boston Red Sox logo.
2. Clase and Cleveland Guardians teammate Luis Ortiz are from the Dominican Republic, and the courtroom evidence has focused on the people around Clase, including Luis Alberto de Aza Baez, Luis Arismendy Paca Mendez and Enoc Pena. In May 2023, Clase gave friends tickets to Citi Field for the Guardians’ four-game series against the New York Mets.
3. Jurors saw a video of Paca dancing to “I Want It That Way” by Backstreet Boys during that 19 May game, while prosecutors allege that on the same night Clase conspired to fix his first pitch in extra innings against former Mets outfielder Starling Marte. The pitch was a 98.5 mile-per-hour cutter that landed low for a ball.
4. According to the government’s case, several members of the entourage wagered on whether the pitch would exceed 94.5 mph. FBI Special Agent Ava Barnett testified about the video evidence on Thursday afternoon as the second week of the trial wrapped up on Friday.
5. The trial for the two Guardians pitchers began 4 November and is scheduled to last through early-December. Clase and Ortiz face charges including conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery and money laundering conspiracy. If convicted, both could face at least 20 years in federal prison. Robinson Vasquez, another defendant named in the indictment, is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. All three have pleaded not guilty.

The indictment centers on 18 alleged pitches, starting with the Marte at-bat in Flushing, approximately 12 miles from the court record’s original description of the venue. For sportsbooks, this is the sort of case that puts prop-market controls under a microscope: not the match result, but the next pitch, the speed, and the margin.