In a legal strategy thtt baffles Today in Ohio podcast hosts, former Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase has unveiled a defense in his federal gambling case that might be even more damaging to his reputation than the original charges.
According to Clase’s attorneys, those suspicious text messages that prosecutors identified as coded discussions about rigged pitches? They weren’t about baseball at all—they were about cockfighting, Leila Atassi said on Friday’s episode..
The defense has filed affidavits claiming Clase operated what they describe as a “completely legal rooster fighting operation” in the Dominican Republic. They further assert that one of the bettors prosecutors identified was actually placing wagers on game fowl, not on pitches thrown for the Guardians.
Clase and fellow Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz are charged with taking money from gamblers to throw first pitch balls. The gamblers then used the inside information to collect big returns.
This bettor in the Clase case claims he never received inside information or coordinated pitch outcomes, instead relying on his baseball knowledge and even ChatGPT to make the prop bets that gave him his big cash return. According to the defense, his successful betting streak was simply luck, not the result of a coordinated scheme with Clase.
Chris Quinn, the podcast host, was quick to point out the moral contradiction in this defense strategy: “There are a whole lot of people who don’t think we should have cockfighting because it’s incredibly cruel. It tears these creatures apart. It’s a horrible way for them to die. And personally, I would rather say I cheated on baseball than I tortured creatures.”
Prosecutors aren’t buying the cockfighting explanation either. They note that the claim was made before criminal charges were even filed, and at least one witness has already recanted the story. Clase and Ortiz remain charged with conspiring to rig pitches and help betters win nearly half a million dollars, with their trial set for May.
Atassi highlighted a particularly unbelievable aspect of the defense’s narrative: “The key witness says he and Clase were very close friends. Close enough that he stayed at Clase’s house when he was visiting in Cleveland. He ran errands for the family, and he even ordered Dominican food from New York to make him feel at home. And yet we’re supposed to believe… that this guy just knew Clase so well that he could predict pitch selection and velocity at a level of sophistication to fuel hundreds of thousands of dollars in prop bets? I mean, come on, bruh.”
Quinn believes this unusual defense strategy will ultimately backfire for Clase: “I think this is going to make his reputation worse. He’ll probably get convicted of the gambling. And now we know he also operates cockfighting rings. What a wonderful human being.”
The case takes on additional significance in light of growing concerns about the integrity of sports amid a wave of gambling scandals. As Quinn warned during the podcast, “If you watch sports, you think it’s a contest between two teams. If you think it’s fixed, you’re not going to watch it.”
Listen to the discussion here.
Listen to full “Today in Ohio” episodes where Chris Quinn hosts our daily half-hour news podcast, with Editorial Board member Lisa Garvin, Impact Editor Leila Atassi and Content Director Laura Johnston.