Major League Baseball suspends players for violating sports betting rules

MLB has banned Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano for life.

US.- Major League Baseball (MLB) has placed Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano on its permanently ineligible list for violating the league’s sports betting rules and policies. According to data obtained by MLB, from 2022-23, Marcano placed 387 baseball bets, including 231 MLB-related bets, through a legal sportsbook.

Marcano bet more than $150,000 on baseball, with $87,319 on MLB-related bets. Of the MLB bets Marcano, 25 were Pirates games while he was at Pittsburgh’s Major League club. Marcano did not appear in any of the games on which he placed bets as he was on the injured list.

Four other players have received one-year suspensions for unrelated gambling violations following investigations by MLB’s Department of Investigations: Michael Kelly and Minor Leaguers Jay Groome (Padres), José Rodríguez (Phillies) and Andrew Saalfrank (D-backs).

MLB’s Rule 21 states that league employees are subject to a lifetime ban for betting on their team. Betting on other teams results in a year-long suspension.

See also: NBA bans Toronto Raptors’ Jontay Porter for violating gambling rules

Commissioner Rob Manfred said: “The strict enforcement of Major League Baseball’s rules and policies governing gambling conduct is a critical component of upholding our most important priority: protecting the integrity of our games for the fans. The longstanding prohibition against betting on Major League Baseball games by those in the sport has been a bedrock principle for over a century. We have been clear that the privilege of playing in baseball comes with a responsibility to refrain from engaging in certain types of behavior that are legal for other people”.