Guardians trade acquisition ominously under investigation by MLB as concerns mount

UPDATE: This story has been updated to include new information about Luis Ortiz's suspension.

Luis Oritz has been a godsend this year for the Cleveland Guardians. But now it’s anyone's guess as to when he’ll be back on the mound for Cleveland, as MLB announced on Thursday that he had been placed on non-disciplinary paid leave through the end of the All-Star break due to an MLB investigation.

About two hours after the suspension was initially announced, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and Zack Meisel reported that Ortiz was placed on leave due to a MLB betting investigation.

The Guardians released a statement that said: 

“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 Guardians

Guardians trade acquisition ominously under investigation by MLB as concerns mount

Ortiz, who was in his first year with the Guardians, has posted a 4.36 ERA in 16 starts this year, and was scheduled to start Thursday’s game against the Cubs. 

Joey Cantillo will get the start for the Guardians instead. 

The Guardians acquired Ortiz at the Winter Meetings last year from the Pirates in exchange for utility infielder Spencer Horwitz, who the team had acquired earlier in the day from the Toronto Blue Jays. 

While he’s tied for the American League lead with nine losses, Ortiz has shown flashes this year like when he blanked the Yankees for 5 2/3 innings at the start of June and threw six scoreless innings against the Athletics two weeks ago. 

He ranks in the 75th percentile in whiff rate and the 71st percentile, though he's been surrendering a bit too much hard contact.

Last year five MLB players were suspended for betting on baseball. Four of those players (Michael Kelly, Jay Groome, José Rodríguez and Andrew Saalfrank) were suspended for a year, while Tucupita Marcano was placed on the permanently ineligible list.

The four players who were suspended a year bet on games they weren't involved in, while Marcano bet on Pirates games while he was playing for the club. Marcano played with Ortiz for two years in Pittsburgh.

Cantillo will be making his return to the Guardians after he opened the year in the team’s bullpen. Cantillo posted a 3.81 ERA in 28 1/3 innings, but was sent down to Triple-A at the end of May.

While that was on the back of a month where he posted a 5.54 ERA in 13 innings, it was also so he could be stretched out as a starter for moments like this. 

He’ll get the nod against Cade Horton tonight in Chicago. He has a career 5.11 ERA as a starter.