Overview

• Ortiz was placed on paid non-disciplinary leave by the Guardians on July 3 as MLB opened a confidential probe into suspected bets on games he pitched.
• Betting-integrity monitors flagged two wild pitches on June 15 and June 27 after detecting unusual wagering patterns tied to those specific outcomes.
• Under MLB’s Article 21, players face lifetime bans for wagering on their own games, a precedent underscored by the lifetime ban of Tucupita Marcano.
• League insiders and media commentators have warned that real-time betting creates new vulnerabilities and complicates enforcement of integrity rules.
• No formal charges have been announced and MLB has provided no timeline for concluding its investigation.