Catcher Bo Naylor testifies in Guardians pitchers' gambling case

Catcher Bo Naylor testified in a New York court on Thursday in the gambling case against Cleveland Guardians pitchers. The allegation is that some pitches thrown by Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were rigged in advance, and Naylor was the catcher behind the plate for those pitches.

Naylor had been a member of the Guardians since 2022. At this season's trade deadline he was acquired by the Milwaukee Brewers, who went on to win the World Series.

During questioning, Naylor was shown dozens of clips of pitches thrown by Clase and Ortiz in 2025. The pitchers' defence lawyers questioned him first.

Naylor testified that he appeared to have called one of the allegedly rigged pitches. It was a slider away to St. Louis Cardinals player Pedro Pages. Naylor said Pages' weakness was a slider away.

Naylor also said he was unaware that bettors could wager on specific pitches. He testified that he did not know gamblers could bet on a particular pitch.

He explained that catchers and pitchers work out a strategy in pregame meetings by analysing the weak spots in the batting habits of each opponent. How to attack each batter to get them out is decided that way. But even the best pitchers cannot be sure that each pitch will go exactly where it is aimed.

Speaking about Clase's command, Naylor said it was pretty good. He said his command on his fastball was better than his offspeed pitches. Clase is a three-time All-Star and a two-time American League Reliever of the Year.

Under questioning, Naylor acknowledged that he had frequently seen Clase on his mobile phone in the locker room. Prosecutors have alleged that Clase sometimes broke Major League Baseball rules by communicating with gamblers during games.

Clase and Ortiz were indicted in a federal gambling probe on 9 November 2025. The indictment alleges that bettors won $400,000 from betting platforms on pitches thrown by Clase between 2023 and 2025. Ortiz allegedly joined the scheme in June 2025.

In one instance, the indictment alleges, Clase used his phone in the middle of a game to coordinate with a bettor on a pitch he would throw.

Clase turned himself into arguably the game's best closer. In his last full season in 2024, he pitched to a 1.21 ERA, which earned him a third-place finish in the American League Cy Young vote. His 2025 ERA was 3.80 by the time he was investigated. Ortiz has a lifetime 4.36 ERA, with his best season also coming in 2024, when it was 3.32.

Clase signed a five-year, $20 million deal just before opening day in 2022, a few months after finishing fifth in the American League Rookie of the Year voting. Ortiz was making the veteran minimum of $782,600 last season because he was not yet eligible for arbitration.

Meanwhile, New York Yankees President Randy Levine said he is very hopeful that a lockout can be avoided ahead of the December deadline.