Pitcher Luis Ortiz was scheduled to begin for the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday in opposition to the Chicago Cubs. He might not return to the mound for the foreseeable future.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that Ortiz was below investigation by Main League Baseball and had been positioned on paid depart. Ken Rosenthal and Zack Meisel of The Athletic later revealed that the trigger was sports activities betting in violation of MLB’s guidelines.
Ortiz’s paid depart is at present scheduled to finish on July 17 after the All-Star break. Nevertheless, if the investigation is ongoing, his depart could possibly be prolonged indefinitely till the league’s probe is full.
MLB carried out one other investigation into sports activities betting in 2024. Padres utility infielder Tucupita Marcano was handed a lifetime suspension for sports activities betting, whereas 4 different gamers had been suspended for a 12 months.
The Guardians acquired Ortiz as a part of a pair of trades in the course of the offseason. After sending second baseman Andres Gimenez and pitcher Nick Sandlin to the Toronto Blue Jays for infielder Spencer Horwitz and minor league outfielder Nick Mitchell, Horwitz was then dealt to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Ortiz and some prospects.
Whereas Ortiz appeared to have a breakout season in 2024, he has been unable to construct upon that success throughout his first season with the Guardians.
He is posted a 4.36 ERA and 1.376 WHIP over 88.2 innings, placing out 96 batters with 42 walks. Ortiz leads the American League with 9 losses as Cleveland entered Thursday with a disappointing 40-44 file, losers of six consecutive video games.
