‘Throw a Rock at the First Rooster’
As the Cleveland Guardians continue the opening month of the Major League Baseball season, the defending American League Central champions are prepared to play this year without two prominent pitchers.
Last month, a judge in a federal pitch-rigging case delayed the trial of Emmanuel Clase and two others to November. Barring an unexpected development, the stay ensured that Clase will miss the entire 2026 season. A former MLB reliever of the year, he is facing more than 10 years in prison for allegedly conspiring to rig numerous pitches as a way of ensuring a series of betting outcomes.
The indictment of Clase and his Guardians teammate Luis Ortiz has rocked Major League Baseball. For its part, MLB has responded by implementing strict limits on microbets that allow customers to wager on individual balls and strikes. Less than 72 hours after the indictment against the pitchers were unsealed, MLB announced that its authorized gaming operators would limit every microbet to a maximum of $200 each. The restrictions also prohibit bettors from including microbets as an individual leg in a larger parlay.
The 2026 MLB season began in March, less than six months after charges surfaced against the pitchers. The case is pending as the NBA, the NCAA and the UFC also deal with gambling scandals in their respective sports. Of the four, MLB reacted considerably quicker than the others to impose restrictions on microbets. Nevertheless, significant questions remain on whether the scandals will create a veritable sea change for the availability of microbets.
Speaking in Code
While the two pitchers initially faced charges last fall, the government released a superseding indictment in February with additional evidence in the case. Clase, according to prosecutors, allegedly fixed more than three dozen pitches, including several in the MLB playoffs.
The indictment, unsealed on February 13, contained charges against a third defendant, Robinson Vasquez Germosen. Previously described as an associate of Clase, Germosen allegedly served as a conduit between the pitchers and two Dominican Republic bettors.
On May 18, 2025, the Guardians were defeated 3-1 by the Reds in an early-season, interleague matchup. Before the game, Germosen instructed Clase to “throw a rock at the first rooster in today’s fight,” according to court filings. Soon after, Clase responded via text message: “Yes, of course, that’s an easy toss to that rooster,” before adding, “yes, low.”
FBI Special Agent Amy Giarrusso wrote in a sworn affidavit that, based on her knowledge of the investigation, “rooster” served as coded language for a batter, while “low” indicated that Clase planned to throw a ball. Clase, however, did not enter the game. As a result, the bettor did not place the wager.
Two years earlier, the bettors did profit on a Clase microbet. On June 4, 2023, Clase secured a save in a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Twins. Before the game, Clase responded “same rooster,” when asked by an unnamed bettor about throwing a fixed pitch on his first pitch of the ninth inning.
Jeffrey Danik is a former supervisory agent with the FBI. Coded wording is usually very easy for an investigator to spot, he says, because the phrase usually stands out in the context of other forms of communication between conspirators.
“Coded language demonstrates intent and reduces the credibility of the defendant denying that they committed the crime,” Danik says. “It can be very valuable evidence in convincing a jury that a crime occurred.”
In total, the bettors allegedly won at least $450,000 on microbets involving the two pitchers, according to federal prosecutors. Attorneys for Clase denied the allegations, claiming that the pitcher referred instead to cockfighting.
Federal Intervention
Days after Clase’s indictment, a group of senators from the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee wrote a letter to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred. Senator Ted Cruz (R–Texas), chairman of the committee, noted in the letter that illegal sports betting and game rigging are not isolated incidents, but instead an emerging issue across multiple leagues.
“Coded language demonstrates intent and reduces the credibility of the defendant denying that they committed the crime.”
—Jeffrey Danik, former FBI supervisory agent, on cryptic language allegedly used by athletes to fix in-game bets
The Clase matter could potentially become the most notorious gambling scandal in baseball since the infamous Black Sox case, more than a century ago. Eventually, eight players from the 1919 Chicago White Sox were permanently banned from Major League Baseball for allegedly fixing that year’s World Series. Despite the acquittal of all eight two years later, MLB Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis banned the White Sox players for life. Cruz referenced the Black Sox scandal in his letter to Manfred, informing the commissioner that match-fixing scandals in the sport are “not new.”
Although the White Sox players weren’t accused of rigging individual pitches, micro-activity played a role in the scheme. On the second pitch of Game 1, Eddie Cicotte deliberately pegged Reds leadoff hitter Morrie Rath in the back. The bean allegedly provided a pre-arranged signal to organized crime members that the fix was in. While legendary mobster Arnold Rothstein testified before a grand jury in the case, he was never indicted in the scheme. A combination of weak evidence from the prosecution and “lost” player confessions led to Rothstein being cleared of all wrongdoing.
Per the Standing Rules of the Senate, the committee has the authority to study and review issues relating to sports and commerce, according to the letter from Cruz. The Texas senator sent MLB a series of pointed questions on how the league plans to respond to the allegations against the pitchers.
• How and when was MLB made aware of suspicious betting and game manipulation activity by Emmanuel Clase or Luis Ortiz? Provide documents sufficient to support your response.
• List any investigation into an MLB or affiliate team’s players, coaches, employees or owners for violating MLB rules relating to sports betting, gambling or game rigging or related criminal conduct between January 1, 2020 and the present.
• Provide all documents related to any investigation listed in response to Request 3, including:
A. Procedures and policies used to conduct any relevant investigation;
B. Documents received by third parties or otherwise collected by MLB during any relevant investigation; and,
C. Findings, conclusions and actions taken as a result of any relevant investigation.
• Provide communications between MLB and any sports betting platform or sports gambling integrity monitor regarding suspicious or flagged sports wagers.
“An isolated incident of game rigging might be dismissed as an aberration, but the emergence of manipulation across multiple leagues suggests a deeper, systemic vulnerability,” Cruz wrote. “These developments warrant thorough scrutiny by Congress before misconduct issues become more widespread.”
Microbetting in Other Sports
Besides Cruz, other members of Congress have engaged with professional sports leagues in an attempt to mitigate the risks of microbetting. In the House of Representatives, Rep. Paul Tonko (D–New York) penned a letter to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, urging the league to support his federal framework on sports betting.
The restrictions on microbetting in baseball could spur changes in other sports. A student athlete committee in the Big Ten has called on NCAA President Charlie Baker to lead the charge for a federal ban on college player props. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has also spoken openly on the integrity concerns associated with prediction markets.
It may be feasible to see further restrictions on microbets this year in the NFL, college athletics and several niche sports. Already, there are enhanced measures at some books on NBA props involving two-way players.
“The choice before you is now explicit,” Tonko wrote to Silver. “Either engage directly with Congress to establish mandatory federal guardrails that restore integrity and protect the public, or stand in opposition and accept responsibility when the next scandal breaks and more families and lives are destroyed.”
