Ohio governor calls for an end to player prop betting amid investigation into Guardians pitchers

Cleveland Guardians’ All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase and pitch Luis Ortiz are under investigation for alleged sports gambling involvement.

Two pitches thrown by Ortiz during a start are being scrutinized after numerous bets were made that Ortiz would throw a ball, which he did. It is unknown why Clase is being investigated.

With legalized sports gambling on the rise, numerous athletes in the major sports have been punished for gambling.

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With Ortiz and Clase on administrative leave during the investigation, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called for the Casino Control Commission to eliminate player props from gambling sites.

“The evidence that prop betting is harming athletics in Ohio is reaching critical mass,” DeWine said in a statement Thursday afternoon. “First, there were threats on Ohio athletes, and now two high-profile Ohio professional athletes have been suspended by Major League Baseball as part of a ‘sports betting investigation.’ 

“The harm to athletes and the integrity of the game is clear, and the benefits are not worth the harm. The prop betting experiment in this country has failed badly. I call on the Casino Control Commission to correct this problem and remove all prop bets from the Ohio marketplace.”

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The NBA has considered barring props after Jontay Porter was banned for life for wagering on his own games.

MLB suspended five players for gambling in June 2024, including a lifetime ban for San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano. MLB said Marcano placed 387 baseball bets totaling more than $150,000 with a legal sportsbook in 2022 and 2023.

Athletics pitcher Michael Kelly and three minor leaguers — San Diego pitcher Jay Groome, Arizona pitcher Andrew Saalfrank and Philadelphia infielder José Rodríguez — received one-year suspensions.

Umpire Pat Hoberg was fired by MLB in February for sharing his legal sports gambling accounts with a friend who bet on baseball games and for intentionally deleting electronic messages pertinent to the league’s investigation.

The 27-year-old Clase is 5-3 with 24 saves in 48 games this year, but he also has a career-high 3.23 ERA. The right-hander led the AL in saves the previous three years and was believed to be on the market ahead of this week’s MLB trade deadline.