Bo Naylor Says He Didn’t Know Bettors Could Wager on Individual Pitches

Former Cleveland Guardians catcher Bo Naylor testified on Nov. 5, 2026, in Brooklyn federal court as a defense witness in the trial of pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz. Under cross-examination, Naylor said he only learned that gamblers could bet on individual pitches after the criminal case came to light.

“I didn’t know that until the situation,” Naylor said, according to The Associated Press. The prosecutor had asked whether he knew such bets existed in 2025, when the pitches shown to the jury were thrown.

What the catcher told the jury

Defense lawyers showed Naylor dozens of clips of pitches the two men threw in 2025. He explained that catchers signal which pitch to throw and where to aim it, but pitchers can wave off the call and choose a different pitch. He also said that even the best pitchers cannot be sure every pitch will land where it is aimed.

Naylor, who was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in August, was called out of turn because he was leaving for his wedding, the AP reported.

The case so far

In a pitch bet, a gambler wagers on whether a single pitch will be a ball or a strike, or on how fast it will be.

Prosecutors allege that Clase agreed to throw specific pitches and passed advance information to bettors from 2023, and that Ortiz joined in June 2025 and agreed to throw a ball on a chosen pitch in two games. The superseding indictment alleges that bettors won at least $450,000 on pitches thrown by Clase and Ortiz.

Both pitchers have pleaded not guilty. The case is 1:25-cr-00346 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Prop bets on single players have also drawn charges in college sports, as in the Fresno State prop-bet case in Nevada.