Apparently, even Major League Baseball players are learning just how much money people can gamble on their every move, including single pitches.
Testimony entered its third day Friday in the federal sports betting trial of Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, following an appearance Thursday by former teammate and catcher Bo Naylor. Naylor told jurors he had no idea gamblers could even bet on individual pitches until the criminal investigation surfaced.
Naylor, now with the Milwaukee Brewers, was called as a defense witness due to scheduling conflicts. Naylor was shown dozens of video clips of pitches thrown by Clase and Ortiz in 2025. He told jurors that he saw nothing unusual about the pitches and explained that even the best pitchers don’t always throw where or what they intend.
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Naylor, who described Clase as having “pretty good command,” also testified that he had no idea gamblers could place bets on single pitches until the criminal investigation. He acknowledged seeing Clase on his phone pretty frequently in the clubhouse, but also said he had heard rumors about the pitcher’s involvement in cockfighting.
Also Thursday, Joel Trella, director of special investigations for DraftKings, testified about betting activity linked to Clase’s home. Trella said the sportsbook identified 160 geolocation pings from accounts used at the home. The data did not confirm or verify who was placing the bets.
Friday’s testimony began with the continued cross-examination of Edward Canario, a cooperating government witness who previously testified about betting on Clase’s pitches in 2023. Canario told jurors that he received betting tips from alleged co-conspirator Luis Arismendy “Paca” Mendez and split his winnings with him. The government showed records of his bets from DraftKings and other sports betting platforms, including bets on pitch speeds and whether a pitch would be a ball.
Under cross-examination, Canario testified that he had no communication with Ortiz and had FaceTimed Clase just once. He also acknowledged being friends with co-defendant Robinson Vásquez Germosen but maintained that the two never discussed betting. Canario has entered into a cooperation agreement with federal prosecutors.
The government next called Luis Alberto de Aza Baez, a native of the Dominican Republic who previously lived in Nantucket, Massachusetts, and now resides in Texas.
Baez appeared emotionless, but forthcoming.
Baez, who also has a cooperation agreement with prosecutors, testified that he began receiving inside information about Clase’s pitches in May 2023 from Enoc Pena and Mendez, again, known as “Paca.”
Baez says the tips included how fast Clase would throw a pitch and whether it would be a ball. He testified that he won nearly every time he placed a bet using the inside information.
Baez said he primarily used DraftKings, including an account registered in his wife’s name, and placed parlays, which combine multiple bets into a single bet for a potentially larger payout. He also testified that he frequently sent Pena money after winning bets because Pena had helped him win.
Baez acknowledged facing a fraud charge and $69,000 in financial obligations involving restitution or forfeiture. He is required to testify truthfully or risk losing the benefits of his deal.
Baez also told jurors that he previously shared a home in Nantucket with Pena and Vásquez Germosén, where they worked as landscapers, and eventually Uber drivers after moving to Winthrop, Massachusetts. He recalled meeting Clase when the pitcher was visiting Massachusetts while in town to play the Boston Red Sox. It was Baez’s birthday, and Pena and Vásquez Germosén brought the pitcher to his home.
The group played dominoes, listened to music and spent time together, Baez said. Prosecutors played a video of the gathering for jurors. Baez also testified that Paca later moved to Cleveland to live with Clase, where he believed he worked as the pitcher’s cook. The February superseding indictment separately alleges that Paca lived with Clase in Ohio and that Clase reserved baseball tickets for him 55 times between 2022 and 2023.
The government displayed a screenshot of WhatsApp messages allegedly exchanged between Clase and Pena in September 2023, which was sent to Baez as information. The exchange referred to “chicken number 3” and included instructions to bet on the third after the first two were killed.
He was asked on direct whether the messages were actually about chickens; Baez said no. He testified that they referred to baseball pitches.
This was previously detailed in the February superseding indictment, where the feds allege a plan to manipulate a pitch during a September 2023 game against the Detroit Tigers would be carried out. However, Clase never entered that game, meaning the alleged plan never happened.
Clase’s attorneys maintain that conversations involving chickens and roosters concerned actual cockfighting in the Dominican Republic, not baseball gambling.
Outside of the jury’s presence, defense attorney Todd Spodek reiterated that his client, Vásquez Germosén, was essentially operating a community “savings club” rather than acting as a gambling “kingpin,” since he often moved large sums of money due to the club.
Spodek moved to introduce receipts that he said would support that explanation. Judge Matsumoto instructed him to identify a witness who could establish a foundation for admitting the records.
As Los Angeles Magazine previously reported, federal prosecutors accuse Clase and Ortiz of working with gamblers to manipulate individual pitches in exchange for bribes and kickbacks.
Prosecutors allege Clase began participating in the scheme in 2023 and recruited Ortiz in 2025. The government’s allegations say bettors won at least $460,000 through bets tied to the pitchers’ performances.
Both pitchers have pleaded not guilty to charges involving wire fraud, sports bribery and money laundering conspiracies. Paca, who was extradited from the Dominican Republic in October, is being prosecuted separately and is not among the three defendants currently on trial.
Baez’s direct examination was still underway Friday afternoon, with cross-examination potentially beginning before court adjourned at 3 p.m.
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