Former Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz go to trial Monday on charges that they accepted bribes as they colluded with gamblers who made hundreds of thousands of dollars betting correctly on individual pitches. Their careers and possibly their freedom are at stake in the jury trial expected to unfold over the next month in Brooklyn federal court. Several professional baseball players, including catchers and baseball executives, are among witnesses expected to testify. Clase, the Guardians’ former closer, and Ortiz, a starter, have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy charges and are on nondisciplinary leave from the club without pay while their fate is determined. According to an indictment, the pitchers accepted several thousand dollars in payoffs to help two gamblers from their native Dominican Republic win at least $460,000 on in-game prop bets on the speed and outcome of certain pitches. Prosecutors allege that Clase began providing the bettors with information about his pitches in 2023 and recruited Ortiz into the scheme in 2025. Lawyers for Ortiz unsuccessfully sought to have Ortiz tried separately from Clase. Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto said at a conference Friday that she hopes to complete jury selection quickly enough that lawyers can deliver relatively short opening statements in the afternoon. Clase, 28, is a three-time All-Star and two-time American League Reliever of the Year who had completed his fourth season of a $20 million, five-year contract when charges against the pitchers were revealed in November 2025. Ortiz, 27, had earned $782,600 as a starting pitcher for the Guardians during the 2025 season.