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The indictment against Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz is bad bad. Plus: Max Scherzer wants another shot, the Rockies made an interesting hire and another Japanese slugger is headed stateside. I’m Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal. Welcome to The Windup!

Gambling Investigation: Clase, Ortiz indicted on gambling charges

On July 3, Guardians starter Luis Ortiz was placed on administrative leave while MLB investigated a gambling-related issue. Nearly three weeks later, the team was notified that closer Emmanuel Clase was also under investigation.

After that, we didn’t hear much, beyond Ortiz and Clase attempting (unsuccessfully) to pitch in Winter League ball. The Guardians lost the Wild Card Series to the Tigers, 2-1.

This week, the bombshell: Both pitchers were indicted on multiple gambling-related charges.

The pitchers were allegedly paid to throw particular pitches above or below certain velocities, or out of the strike zone, to allow bettors to win prop bets. Clase is also charged with sending money to place a bet on his behalf.

Some dark comic relief: One alleged bet went south when Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages swung at a Clase pitch in the dirt, meaning it was a strike.

The activities are alleged to have started around May 2023 for Clase, and earlier this season for Ortiz. The charges include wire-fraud conspiracies, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery and money laundering conspiracy.

If convicted, the pitchers face a maximum of 65 years in prison. Ortiz was arrested yesterday in Boston. Clase was not — he’s in the Dominican Republic.

In addition to being illegal, this would also have been a colossally stupid gambit. Clase is set to make $6.4 million in 2026. Ortiz was set to receive a pre-arbitration raise from his 2025 salary of $782,600.

It’s not known exactly how much Clase or Ortiz are alleged to have made from the conspiracy in total, but it’s certainly less than the combined ~$460,000 that the bettors reportedly won from the bets.

Zack Meisel combed through the indictment and has a world-class report with figures, texts and videos here. The details are stunning.

Ken’s Notebook: At 41, Max Scherzer wants another shot at a World Series

From my latest column:

There Max Scherzer was in Game 7, allowing one run in 4 1/3 innings while Shohei Ohtani allowed three runs, all scoring on a homer by Bo Bichette, in 2 1/3. The takeaway for Scherzer, not just from that start but all three he made in the postseason, is rather obvious.

“I still can do this,” the 18-year veteran said.

Only 12 pitchers this century have made 30 or more starts in their age-41 seasons or older, led by Jamie Moyer, who did it five times, and Randy Johnson, who did it three. Scherzer will be considered 41 in 2026; a player’s baseball age is how old he is as of July 1, and Scherzer’s birthday is not until July 27. He last made 30 starts in 2021 and has managed only 26 combined the past two seasons. But now that he is again a free agent, at least one executive believes he can be a viable starter next season.

“No doubt. No doubt,” the executive said. “He may not get 30 starts. But can he get 20 starts at a mid-3.00 ERA and a mid-3.00 FIP, be a guy who’s going to compete and care about winning? I 100 percent believe that.

Some in the industry expect Scherzer to land with the Giants, reuniting with new manager Tony Vitello, his pitching coach at Missouri in the mid-2000s. A return to Toronto also might be an option.

Scherzer isn’t ready to talk about his wish list, saying, “The World Series is still so fresh in my mind and in my heart, it’s hard to even think about solving free agency.”

An Exec’s Return to MLB: Rockies bring DePodesta back to baseball

For casual fans, the news might call to mind the face of Jonah Hill, who played a version of Paul DePodesta in “Moneyball” (though the character — at DePodesta’s request — was renamed “Peter Brand” in the film).

DePodesta is the new head of baseball operations for the Colorado Rockies. It will be his highest-ranking role in a career that began nearly 30 years ago.

Here’s a rundown:

Cleveland, 1996-1998: player development intern, advance scout, special assistant to GM. After making it to the World Series in 1995, Cleveland advanced to the ALDS, World Series and ALCS in his three years with the club.

Oakland, 1999-2003: assistant GM. After a seven-year playoff drought, the A’s made it to the postseason every year from 2000-2003, losing 3-2 in the ALDS all four years.

Los Angeles Dodgers, 2004-2005: general manager. After a seven-year playoff drought, the Dodgers made it to the NLDS in 2004 (but did not make the postseason in 2005).

San Diego, 2006-2010: special assistant for baseball operations, executive vice president. The Padres technically improved in 2006, losing the NLDS 3-1 (they had lost 3-0 the previous year), but did not make the playoffs again during his tenure.

New York Mets, 2011-2015: vice president of player development and scouting. After making just one playoff appearance between 2002 and DePodesta’s hiring, the Mets went to the World Series in 2015.

Cleveland Browns (NFL), 2016-present: DePodesta switched sports in 2016, taking the role of chief strategy officer for the Browns, who had not made the postseason since 2002. They made the postseason in 2020 and 2023, but he was also part of the team that made the disastrous Deshaun Watson trade. DePodesta’s role in Cleveland, according to Jason Lloyd, can “best be described with an emoji shrug.”

Will DePodesta be the magic cure for a franchise that has lost 100-plus games in each of the last three years? Who knows, but surely it can’t get worse, right?

A New Japanese Slugger: Munetaka Murakami posted

Another Japanese star is headed to the big leagues. Munetaka Murakami, the 25-year-old Yakult Swallows corner infielder who broke Sadaharu Oh’s 1964 NPB record for home runs by a Japanese-born player (Oh had 55 and Murakami hit 56), was posted.

If Murakami’s name sounds familiar, it’s probably from the 2023 World Baseball Classic, where his walk-off double beat Mexico in the semifinal before he homered off Merrill Kelly in the championship game.

He’s expected to be one of this year’s most sought-after free agents. Tim Britton projected an eight-year deal worth $158.5 million.

While Murakami has played more third base (763 games) than first base (266 games), the consensus seems to be that his defense will limit him to the latter in the big leagues. There’s also the swing-and-miss. Murakami has 1,068 strikeouts in 4,246 plate appearances (3,515 at-bats) in Japan.

There are also the recent injuries: a broken toe in 2024, then an offseason elbow surgery and an oblique injury that limited him to 69 games last year. It’s a high-risk/high-reward signing for any team. Murakami has 45 days from the time of posting (which was Friday) to decide.

For more on Murakami and others from Japan and Korea, Will Sammon and Cody Stavenhagen have you covered.

Handshakes and High Fives

After finally making it to the World Series as the Blue Jays’ bench coach, Don Mattingly is moving on.

The latest from the Skaggs/Angels civil suit: The judge expressed concern about the slow pace of the trial.

This year’s class of players receiving qualifying offers is 13 strong. Here’s the list.

Yesterday would have been Bob Gibson’s 90th birthday. Jason Jones has a remembrance of the intimidating ace’s lighter side.

We now know the devastating reason Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia was unavailable for the World Series. He and his wife Kayla announced that their infant daughter Sterling died on Oct. 26.

On the pods: “The Roundtable” crew talks about the interesting manager/front-office hires and digs into free agency.

Most-clicked in our last newsletter: Tim Britton’s free-agent contract projections.

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