San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano has been permanently banned from Major League Baseball for gambling on baseball. Along with Marcano, four other players – Athletics pitcher Michael Kelly, Padres pitcher Jay Groome, Phillies infielder José Rodríguez, and Diamondbacks pitcher Andrew Saalfrank – have been declared ineligible for one year for violating MLB’s gambling policy.
MLB’s investigation revealed that Marcano made 387 bets on baseball between October 16, 2022, and November 1, 2023, including 231 MLB-related bets while he was with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. He spent over $150,000 on baseball bets, with $87,319 on MLB bets and the rest on international baseball games. Although Marcano made 25 bets on Pirates games while on the major league club, he did not play in any of those games. Overall, he won 4.3% of his MLB-related bets and lost all his Pirates parlays.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred stated that enforcing the league’s rules on gambling conduct is crucial for protecting the integrity of the game. This decision to ban Marcano comes after the NBA permanently banned former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter for violating gambling rules. Marcano is the first active MLB participant declared permanently ineligible since Pete Rose’s ban in 1989. MLB had also previously investigated Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, for sports betting, leading to charges of bank fraud against Mizuhara.