CLEVELAND, Ohio — Federal authorities now say Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase rigged a pitch in the 2024 postseason.
It’s the first time they’ve made the accusation that one of the game’s premier relief pitchers purposefully tanked a pitch on the sport’s biggest stage.
Clase threw a pitch outside the strike zone and slower than 99.45 mph during Game 1 of the 2024 American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers, authorities said.
The revelation came within court documents unsealed Friday in which prosecutors added a defendant accused of being a middleman in the scheme. The move broadens the case that has already swept up two Guardians pitchers.
The new indictment, filed this week in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, adds Robinson Vasquez Germosen to the case against hurlers Clase and Luis Ortiz.
Vasquez was arrested in December 2025 and released on $100,000 bond.
Vasquez and another bettor attended the Oct. 5, 2024 playoff game against the Tigers with tickets that Clase got for them, the new criminal complaint says.
The two bettors bet on the single pitch and won $4,000, according to the FBI. The next day, the other bettor sent Vasquez $1,400, the complaint said.
The Guardians won the game 7-0 and beat the Tigers 3-2 in the series.
Clase defense attorney Michael Ferrara said his client is innocent.
“While we remain disappointed in the flawed views of the evidence and rush to judgment that led to these charges, we look forward to clearing his name at trial where the full facts and circumstances of the case will be revealed,” Ferrara said.
Clase and Ortiz had already been charged in connection with a conspiracy to fix specific pitches in Guardians’ games to benefit bettors and themselves.
The superseding indictment replaces the earlier charging document and formally accuses Vasquez of playing a coordinating role.
Prosecutors allege Vasquez acted as an intermediary between Clase and a network of bettors, relaying advance information about predetermined pitches so wagers could be placed on proposition bets — such as whether a pitch would be a ball or fall below a certain speed.
The indictment says the group used coded language in text messages and funneled payments through third parties, including people in the Dominican Republic.
Clase has claimed the suspected code words were actually messages about a cockfighting operation in his home country, where cockfighting is legal.
In addition to joining the wire fraud and sports bribery conspiracy counts, Vasquez is charged with making false statements to the FBI.
Investigators say that during a January 2026 interview, he minimized his knowledge of the scheme and falsely claimed he was aware of only a single instance in which Clase shared advance pitch information. Prosecutors say he had received such information on numerous occasions.
According to the indictment, more than $400,000 in betting winnings was tied to Clase’s pitches and at least $60,000 was linked to Ortiz after he joined the scheme in June 2025.
Attorneys for Clase and Ortiz say multiple witnesses have sworn they never coordinated bets with the players or received inside information to help win wagers. Both have pleaded not guilty to charges including wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery and money laundering.
An attorney for Vasquez did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.
Cleveland.com and Plain Dealer reporter Adam Ferrise contributed to this story.