A closer who has pitched 48 times and has a 3.23 ERA. A right-handed starter who had a bright future ahead of him. Now, Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz are facing federal charges in Brooklyn for something that goes beyond bad performance. Prosecutors say they rigged individual pitches for money. The plan was simple but very bad: throw a set pitch at a set speed, let co-conspirators bet on it, and make thousands of dollars for each pitch.

Federal prosecutors say that Ortiz got $5,000 for throwing an intentional ball on June 15 and that Emmanuel Clase got the same amount for helping him do it. The plan happened again on June 27, but this time the payments went up to $7,000 each. The Department of Justice says that both pitchers “agreed in advance with their co-con

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