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Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Luis Ortiz has been placed on leave due to an ongoing investigation by MLB. The Guardians released a statement once the news was announced.
“The Guardians have been notified by Major League Baseball that Luis Ortiz has been placed on leave per an agreement with the Players Association due to an ongoing league investigation. The Guardians are not permitted to comment further at this time, and will respect the league's confidential investigative process,” the statement reads.
The situation is confidential at the moment. It is uncertain as to what Ortiz is being investigated about. Updates will be provided on the situation as they are made available.
Ortiz, 26, pitched in Pittsburgh with the Pirates from 2022-2024 before joining the Guardians for the '25 campaign. Through 16 starts, the right-handed pitcher has recorded a 4.36 ERA. He has also struck out 96 hitters across 88.2 innings of work.
Ortiz was expected to start on Thursday night against the Chicago Cubs. Given the news, however, Joey Cantillo will draw the start instead, according to Zack Meisel of The Athletic.
The Guardians are 40-44 overall up to this point in the season. Cleveland is 12.5 games back of the Detroit Tigers for first place in the American League Central division. The Guardians have not performed up to their expectations, but they still could make a run at an AL Wild Card position.
Cleveland will be an interesting team to monitor ahead of the trade deadline. Perhaps the Guardians will buy and attempt to make a postseason run. However, they may be forced to sell with a bad July. It is worth mentioning that star closer Emmanuel Clase is a trade candidate.
For now, the Guardians will place their focus on Thursday night's game against the Cubs. First pitch is scheduled for 8:05 PM EST at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
