Former Cleveland Guardians catcher Bo Naylor testified on Thursday that he saw nothing unusual about the specific pitches Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz are accused of rigging. Naylor, who is serving as a witness for the defense, appeared on the second day of the federal gambling trial. He reviewed video replays of the pitches the government claims were predetermined as part of a broader scheme to benefit bettors.
Naylor was positioned behind the plate for many of the pitches in question. He described them as common sliders that missed the strike zone. He noted that scouting reports for the batters Ortiz faced during the two specific games in question suggested that low and away sliders would be an effective weapon. Naylor played five seasons with the Guardians before being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in August. He caught for 14 of Ortiz’s 16 starts in 2025, including the June 27 game against the St. Louis Cardinals, which is one of the two games where Ortiz allegedly rigged a pitch.
The government alleges that Ortiz intentionally threw a ball to Cardinals player Pedro Pages on the first pitch of the bottom third inning. Naylor confirmed this description to Paul Flannery, one of Ortiz’s attorneys, stating simply, "Slider low and away." Naylor also caught seven of the 18 pitches Clase is accused of manipulating. Clase, a three-time All-Star and two-time American League Reliever of the Year, is accused of rigging pitches in 17 games spanning from May 19, 2023, to May 28, 2025. Naylor told the court that none of these pitches appeared remarkable or out of the ordinary to him.
Naylor stated that he did not know sportsbooks offered bets on the result or speed of individual pitches until the case became public. While he agreed that sharing information with anyone outside the team would be a betrayal, he added that he did not suspect any breaches of trust by either Clase or Ortiz.
In the afternoon, government witness Edward Canario testified that he used information from co-defendant Luis Arismendy Paca Méndez to place bets on Clase pitches in May and June 2023. Canario said Paca Méndez instructed him not to tell anyone he was receiving information about the pitches. Speaking through an interpreter, Canario explained that he paid Paca Méndez half of the proceeds from winning bets but assumed all losses himself.
Canario noted that Paca Méndez was living with Clase in Cleveland at the time and that they had a videoconference together. Earlier in the day, Joel Trella, director of DraftKings’ special investigations unit, testified that the sportsbook found 160 geolocation pings from DraftKings accounts at Clase’s house. A government attorney told the court that 14 people were geolocated at that location.
Canario said he placed larger wagers when Paca Méndez told him to bet on Clase’s first pitch of the ninth inning in select games. He explained that the identity of the batter did not matter, only that they were first up in the ninth inning against Clase. Betting records shown by the government indicated Canario bet upwards of $600 per wager on Clase pitches to be slower than 94.5 mph or to result in a ball or hit batsman. Canario stated he wagered more on some bets because he had inside information on these pitches.
Canario signed a cooperation agreement with the government in exchange for leniency, which involved telling the facts. Under cross-examination, he told defense attorneys that Paca Méndez never explicitly said he had inside information but would refer to these as for-sure bets. Paca Méndez is not participating in the current trial after being extradited from the Dominican Republic to the United States on Oct. 19.
Clase and Ortiz were indicted in November 2025 and are currently standing trial for charges of conspiracy to commit wire and honest services fraud, sports bribery, and money laundering. Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto expects the trial to last until Dec. 3. ESPN researcher John Mastroberardino contributed to this report.
