Cleveland Guardians right-hander Luis Ortiz is underneath investigation by Main League Baseball and has been positioned on nondisciplinary paid go away via July 17, the league mentioned in an announcement Thursday.
MLB didn’t present specifics of the investigation.
Ortiz had been scheduled to start out for the Guardians on Thursday night time in opposition to the Chicago Cubs.
“The Guardians have been notified that Luis Ortiz has been positioned on go away per an settlement with the Gamers Affiliation attributable to an ongoing league investigation,” the workforce mentioned in an announcement. “The Guardians are usually not permitted to remark additional right now and can respect the league’s confidential investigative course of.”
His go away comes amid a slide for the Guardians, who’ve misplaced six consecutive video games to drop to 40-44. Whereas Cleveland stays in second place within the American League Central, it trails first-place Detroit by 12½ video games.
A 26-year-old beginning pitcher, Ortiz was acquired by Cleveland from Pittsburgh over the winter as a part of the three-team commerce through which the Guardians despatched second baseman Andres Gimenez to Toronto. With a 4-9 file and 4.36 ERA, Ortiz has been a staple in a Guardians rotation whose 4.13 ERA ranks 18th in MLB.
Ortiz signed with the Pirates in 2018 at 19 years outdated, far later than the standard prospect, and did not attain full-season ball till 2021. He shortly shot via the Pittsburgh group and debuted in 2022, ultimately throwing 238⅓ innings and posting a 3.93 ERA in his three seasons with the Pirates.