MLB Prolongs Guardians Pitcher Luis Ortiz’s Leave in Connection with a Betting Probe

Pitcher Luis Ortiz of the Cleveland Guardians had his non-disciplinary paid leave extended through August 31 while MLB continues to look into odd gambling-related activity connected to two of Ortiz’s mound appearances.

On July 3, Ortiz was first put on leave. He has not received any official disciplinary action, but while the inquiry is ongoing, he is not permitted to use team facilities.

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“MLB and MLBPA have agreed to extend Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz’s non-disciplinary paid leave through games on Aug. 31 while MLB continues its investigation,” a statement from Major League Baseball said.

Alerts from IC360, a company that keeps an eye on the integrity of sports betting, sparked the inquiry into Ortiz. Numerous sources state that during Ortiz’s starts against the Seattle Mariners on June 15 and the St. Louis Cardinals on June 27, bookies saw an unusual amount of wagering on first-pitch results. Both of the flagged pitches fell well beyond the strike zone, and the dubious bets were on whether the first pitch in particular innings would be a ball or a hit-by-pitch.

According to documents ESPN examined, the wagers came from accounts in New Jersey, Ohio, and New York. Although there is currently no publicly available information that explicitly links Ortiz to any wrongdoing, the timing and substance of the bets have created enough concerns for MLB and its integrity partners to want to look into the matter further.

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