MLB Hands Lifetime Ban to Marcano for Betting

by telcotelco · June 4, 2024

San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano has been banned for life for violating MLB’s gambling policy, the league announced Tuesday.

Additionally, Oakland Athletics reliever Michael Kelly and minor leaguers Jay Groome (Padres), José Rodríguez (Philadelphia Phillies), and Andrew Saalfrank (Arizona Diamondbacks) received one-year suspensions for betting.

MLB’s investigation revealed that Marcano placed 387 baseball bets, including 231 MLB-related wagers through a legal sportsbook between 2022-23. The 24-year-old also made 25 bets on the Pittsburgh Pirates while he was a member of the team last year. However, he never played in the games he bet on after suffering a season-ending ACL injury in July 2023.

The league reported that Marcano bet over $150,000 on baseball, with $87,319 of that amount on MLB-related wagers. Most of his MLB bets were parlays, and he won only 4.3% of them.

The Padres claimed Marcano off waivers in November, but he hasn’t suited up in a game for their organization since being acquired. He also hasn’t appeared in a major-league game since his knee injury.

Meanwhile, Kelly was a minor leaguer with the Astros when he placed 10 bets involving nine MLB games, including three Houston contests, in October 2021, according to the league’s investigation. The 31-year-old bet a total of $99.22 and had a net profit of $28.30 after winning five wagers. He did not take part in any of the contests he gambled on and did not bet on any minor-league teams he was assigned to.

MLB’s inquiry found that Groome made 32 league-related bets while he was a member of the Boston Red Sox organization in 2020-21, that Rodríguez placed 28 major-league wagers between 2021-22 when he was part of the Chicago White Sox minor-league system, and that Saalfrank recorded 28 MLB-related bets during his time in the Diamondbacks’ system across 2021-22. All three players gambled on the Red Sox, White Sox, and Diamondbacks.

Groome had a net loss of $433.54 out of the $453.74 he bet, Rodríguez bet a total of $724.09 on MLB-related wagers, and Saalfrank put in $444.07 and lost $272.64, according to the league. The league added that the minor leaguers did not appear in any of the contests they bet on and did not make bets involving their assigned affiliate clubs.