MLB pitch-rigging case witness testifies he stopped getting tips after Shohei Ohtani interpreter scandal

A government witness testified in federal court that pitch-rigging betting tips dried up following the gambling scandal involving Shohei Ohtani's interpreter. Uber driver Luis de Aza Baez stated during the trial of pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz that he previously received inside tips on Clase's pitches through an associate, Enoc Pena, but was cut off in 2024 due to the heightened fallout from the Ohtani case.

De Aza Baez agreed to forfeit $69,000 in winnings and testify truthfully in exchange for prosecutors dropping a wire fraud charge. He confirmed that Clase never provided tips directly, while Clase, Ortiz, and co-defendant Robinson Vasquez Germosen have maintained their innocence and pleaded not guilty to all charges.