Major League Baseball on Tuesday permanently banned San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano for betting on baseball.
The league also suspended four other players for one year after discovering that the players placed unrelated bets at a legal sportsbook.
Marcano, 24, was found to have placed 387 baseball bets, including 231 MLB-related bets, between October 16, 2022 and November 1, 2023, totaling more than $150,000.
The league says 25 of those bets included bets on Pittsburgh Pirates games while he was on the team’s major league roster.
However, he did not appear in any of those games because he was on the injured list following a season-ending knee injury. He was receiving medical treatment at PNC Park during that time.
Major League Baseball ‘permanently’ suspended Tucupita Marcano from the San Diego Padres
Marcano bet almost exclusively on game outcomes and lost all of his Pirates-related parlay bets, winning only 4.3 percent of all of his MLB-related bets.
He has not played since tearing his right ACL on July 24. The Padres claimed him off waivers on November 2 and placed him on the 10-day injured list on March 19.
American sports leagues have increased surveillance of gambling since the U.S. Supreme Court in May 2018 struck down a federal law that banned betting on football, basketball, baseball and other sports in most states. .
Sportsbooks have opened in stadiums across the country in major US professional sports.
Shohei Ohtani’s performer Ippei Mizuhara was fired by the Los Angeles Dodgers after the season opener on March 21 when a federal gambling investigation became public.
The 24-year-old last played in July 2023 with Pittsburgh before signing with San Diego.
Mizuhara agreed to plead guilty to bank and tax fraud in a sports betting case in which prosecutors allege he stole nearly $17 million from the two-time American League MVP to pay off debts.
Marcano appears to be the first active major league player banned under the sports betting provision since New York Giants outfielder Jimmy O’Connell in 1924.
Pete Rose, baseball’s active career hits leader, accepted a lifetime ban in 1989 after an investigation concluded that he bet on Cincinnati Reds games while managing the team.
Another major leaguer, Oakland Athletics pitcher Michael Kelly, was declared ineligible for one year Tuesday for betting on baseball while in the minor leagues.
Additionally, minor leaguers Jay Groome of San Diego, Jose Rodriguez of Philadelphia and Andrew Saalfrank of Arizona were suspended for one year for betting on major league games.
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter allegedly stole almost $17 million from the Dodgers star to pay off debts
The league said it was informed of the betting activity by a legal sports betting operator.
None of the sanctioned players played in any game they bet on, and all players were denied MLB relevant inside information about their bets or the games they bet on – testimony that MLB says aligns with the data received from the betting house.
“Strict enforcement of Major League Baseball’s rules and policies governing in-game conduct is a critical component of upholding our most important priority: protecting the integrity of our games for fans,” Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. a statement.
‘The long-standing prohibition against betting on Major League Baseball games by those who practice the sport has been a founding principle for more than a century.
“We have been clear that with the privilege of playing baseball comes the responsibility to refrain from engaging in certain types of behavior that are legal for other people.”