The news keeps coming with regard to two of the most high-profile sports betting scandals of recent years.
MLB announced Friday that Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz will remain on administrative leave through Aug. 31 while the league continues to investigate a potential manipulation of prop bet markets.
Ortiz. who posted a 4-9 record and 4.36 ERA in 16 starts this season, was placed on paid administrative leave on July 3 and sent back to Cleveland as the Guardians prepared to face the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Multiple outlets have reported that MLB is investigating whether the 26-year-old intentionally threw first-pitch balls in two games in June. Ortiz is not allowed at any Guardians facility or Progressive Field in a deal agreed upon with the player union and announced on Friday.
The pitches under review occurred on June 15 against the Seattle Mariners and June 27 against the St. Louis Cardinals. On both occasions, integrity monitor IC360 noted unusually heavy wagering on first-pitch “ball or hit batsman” markets. Both pitches missed the strike zone.
Higher-than-usual betting on these markets was reported in New York, New Jersey, and Ohio.
Rozier investigation details emerge
ESPN reported last week that the reason NBA veteran Terry Rozier was investigated by the league two years ago involved IC360-flagged prop bets and the potentially suspicious wagering activity surrounding them on March 23, 2003. Rozier was not deemed by the NBA to have broken rules.
ESPN found the following:
- A professional bettor placed 30 wagers totaling $13,759 on Rozier props at Harrah’s Gulf Coast casino in Biloxi, Mississippi, for that night’s Charlotte Hornets-New Orleans Pelicans game.
- The under bets on Rozier’s points, rebounds, and assists all won when he left because of a reported foot injury. He was shut down for the final eight games of the Hornets’ season and traded to Miami before the next season.
- Most of the unusual betting activity was centered in Mississippi and Louisiana.
- Rozier was involved in the same investigation that snared and prompted a lifetime ban for former Toronto Raptor Jontay Porter.
Free agent Malik Beasley remains under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York for unusual betting activity in the 2023-24 season as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks. He has not been charged with or accused of a crime.
