Report: Rob Manfred Considering Reinstating Pete Rose from MLB Ineligible List

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is reportedly mulling the potential reinstatement of baseball legend Pete Rose from the league's ineligible list.

According to ESPN's Don Van Natta Jr., Manfred is "considering" a petition filed by Rose's family to have him posthumously removed from the list and allow him to become eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Rose was banned from the sport for life by Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti in 1989 for gambling on games when he served as manager of the Cincinnati Reds.

Rose died in Sept. 2024 at the age of 83.

Jeffrey Lenkov, a lawyer who represented Rose prior to his death, revealed that he met with Manfred and MLB spokesman Pat Courney in the commissioner's office on Dec. 17. Rose's daughter, Fawn, was also at the meeting.

"The Commissioner was respectful, gracious, and actively participated in productive discussions regarding removing Rose from the ineligible list," Lenkov said, per Van Natta.

The reinstatement petition was filed after the meeting. Manfred rejected a prior reinstatement petition in Dec. 2015 after talking with Rose himself (via Van Natta).

Rose was a 17-time All-Star during his playing days with the Reds, Montreal Expos and Philadelphia Phillies. He won three World Series titles and was named the 1973 National League MVP.

His 4,256 career hits are the most in MLB history.

Despite rejecting the potential reinstatement of Rose in the past, Manfred is reportedly contemplating a posthumous removal from the ineligible list.