MLB: Guardians Pitcher Ortiz Placed On Leave While Under Investigation For Gambling

Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz was placed on a “non-disciplinary paid leave” while he is being investigated by Major League Baseball for breaking the league’s gambling rules, according to sources who spoke to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The paid leave, which is currently scheduled to run through July 17th, can be extended if the investigation remains open after the end of the 2025 MLB All-Star Break.

Ortiz was originally scheduled to pitch tonight in the Guardians’ game against the Chicago Cubs. Now, MLB.com lists Joey Cantillo as Cleveland’s probable pitcher.

According to sources, Ortiz came under investigation after the betting integrity firm IC360 flagged a pair of pitches he threw that “had received unusual gambling activity.” The firm sent an alert to sportsbook operators in June regarding Ortiz’s pitches. The alert focused on his first pitches in select innings being balls or hits during the Guardians’ June 15th matchup against the Seattle Mariners and their June 27th game against the St. Louis Cardinals. During the aforementioned innings, Ortiz threw first-pitch sliders that were far outside of the strike zone.

“The Guardians have been notified that Luis Ortiz has been placed on leave per an agreement with the Players Association due to an ongoing league investigation,” the team said in a statement. “The Guardians are not permitted to comment further at this time and will respect the league’s confidential investigative process.”

MLB’s investigation into Luis Ortiz is about these two individual pitches which received action flagged by a betting-integrity firm, per @JeffPassan pic.twitter.com/2zvZhmrTlJ

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) July 3, 2025

Major League Baseball said that it would not comment further on the matter until the investigation ends, according to The Athletic.

Last year, Major League Baseball imposed a lifetime ban on San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano for placing almost 400 best on baseball. Four other players were given one-year suspensions for gambling on baseball while playing in the minor leagues.

Luis Ortiz is a 26-year-old pitcher from the Dominican Republic who has spent four years in the MLB. The first three years of Ortiz’s career were spent with the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he went 12-13 while recording a 3.93 ERA. This past off-season, Ortiz was traded to Cleveland as part of a three-team deal that also included the Toronto Blue Jays. In 88.2 innings pitched with the Guardians, Ortiz has a 4-9 record and a 4.36 ERA this season.

Luis Ortiz has pitched 327 innings in 50 career starts at the Major League level. As of June 27th, 2025, the last day that Ortiz pitched in a game, he has a 16-22 career record and a career ERA of 4.05.