Padres' Tucupita Marcano Gets Lifetime Ban for Betting on MLB; 4 Players Suspended

MLB announced a permanent ban for San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano and four other suspensions due to violations of the league's sports betting policy, per MLB.com's Mark Feinsand.

In addition to Marcano being ruled permanently ineligible, the league reportedly gave one-year suspensions to Padres pitcher Jay Groome, Oakland A's pitcher Michael Kelly, Philadelphia Phillies infielder José Rodríguez and Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Andrew Saalfrank.

Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times noted Marcano made 387 bets on baseball games, including 25 on games involving the Pittsburgh Pirates while he was on the team's IL during the 2023 season. MLB levied the lifetime ban on him because he bet on his own team.

"Ultimately, Marcano lost all of his parlays involving the Pirates and only won 4.3 percent of all of his MLB-related bets overall," the league stated.

The Pirates issued a statement on Tuesday:

MLB also noted that Kelly bet a total of $99.22 and Saalfrank bet $445.87 on baseball games, but neither bet on games involving their respective teams.

Tuesday's sanctions come amid a sensitive time for sports betting. Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, is on the verge of pleading guilty to federal charges after admitting to stealing millions from Ohtani to pay off gambling debts.

ESPN's Tisha Thompson noted that David Fletcher, Ohtani's former teammate with the Los Angeles Angels, is still under investigation by MLB for placing bets with the same illegal bookmaker who took wagers from Mizuhara.

The NBA previously handed down a lifetime ban during the 2023-24 season, as Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter was found to have bet on NBA games while he was playing in the G League, among other violations.

Marcano appeared in 149 games over his MLB career and ended with career numbers of .217/.269/.320 with five home runs and 34 RBI.