Main League Baseball introduced Tuesday morning that Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano has been declared completely ineligible for violating the league’s sports activities betting guidelines and insurance policies — particularly Rule 21(d)(2). Per this morning’s press launch:
In March 2024, MLB discovered from a authorized sports activities betting operator that it had recognized previous baseball betting exercise from accounts related to a number of Main and Minor League gamers. MLB obtained information from that operator and different sportsbooks, together with authentication information for bets. None of those gamers performed in any recreation on which they positioned a wager. Additional, all the gamers denied that they’d any inside info related to the bets or that any of the baseball video games they wager on have been compromised or manipulated, and the betting information doesn’t recommend that any outcomes within the baseball video games on which they positioned bets have been compromised, influenced, or manipulated in any manner. Not one of the gamers are interesting their self-discipline.
Beneath Main League Rule 21, “Any participant, umpire, or Membership or League official or worker, who shall wager any sum in any way upon any baseball recreation in reference to which the bettor has no obligation to carry out, shall be declared ineligible for one yr.” Whereas, “Any participant, umpire, or Membership or League official or worker, who shall wager any sum in any way upon any baseball recreation in reference to which the bettor has an obligation to carry out, shall be declared completely ineligible.”
MLB’s investigation discovered that from Oct. 16-23, 2022 and from July 12 to November 1, 2023, Marcano positioned 387 bets on baseball, together with 25 bets on Pirates video games the place he was a member of Pittsburgh’s roster. All 25 of these Pirates bets got here whereas Marcano was rehabbing from a season-ending ACL tear, so he didn’t seem in any of the video games in query. The bets nonetheless violate the league coverage and have thus triggered the lifetime ban.
The league’s investigation discovered that Marcano positioned greater than $150K price of bets on baseball. Many of the bets in query have been parlays, some together with his personal (on the time) Pirates membership. Marcano’s bets usually concerned the Pirates successful the sport or have been over/beneath bets on the variety of runs scored throughout the recreation.
Main League Baseball additionally introduced that Athletics right-hander Michael Kelly, Diamondbacks lefty Andrew Saalfrank, Padres minor league pitcher Jay Groome and Phillies minor league infielder Jose Rodriguez have been given one-year bans for violating Rule 21(d)(1). All 4 gamers have been discovered to have made bets on Main League Baseball video games however weren’t on the Main League roster or injured listing of any groups concerned within the bets they positioned.
Kelly, 31, is an energetic member of the Athletics’ bullpen and has pithed to a 2.59 ERA in 31 1/3 innings this season. His bets have been all positioned in Oct. 2021, when the right-hander was with the Astros’ Triple-A affiliate. He made solely ten bets for a complete of $99.92, with three of these bets approaching video games involving the Astros’ large league membership throughout the postseason. Regardless of the meager complete of Kelly’s bets, his playing exercise was a violation of the rule in place and can set off that one-year ban.
Equally, every of Saalfrank ($445), Groome ($453) and Rodriguez ($749) wager beneath $1,000 on Main League video games again in 2020-21. All have been minor league gamers on the time — Saalfrank with Arizona’s Low-A crew, Groome with the Pink Sox’ Excessive-A affiliate and Rodriguez with the White Sox’ Double-A membership.
Commissioner Rob Manfred issued the next assertion on right this moment’s suspensions:
“The strict enforcement of Main League Baseball’s guidelines and insurance policies governing playing conduct is a important part of upholding our most necessary precedence: defending the integrity of our video games for the followers. The longstanding prohibition in opposition to betting on Main League Baseball video games by these within the sport has been a bedrock precept for over a century. We now have been clear that the privilege of enjoying in baseball comes with a accountability to chorus from partaking in sure forms of habits which are authorized for different folks. For the reason that Supreme Court docket resolution opened the door to legalized sports activities betting, now we have labored with licensed sports activities betting operators and different third events to place ourselves in a greater place from an integrity perspective by means of the transparency {that a} regulated sports activities betting system can present. MLB will proceed to speculate closely in integrity monitoring, academic programming and consciousness initiatives with the objective of guaranteeing strict adherence to this elementary rule of our recreation.”
MLBTR readers can view the league’s complete press launch, which comprises additional specifics on the character of every participant’s bets, in its entirety at MLB.com.