MLB hands lifetime ban to Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano for betting on baseball, 4 others suspended,

Marcano allegedly bet on multiple Pirates games last season when he was on their injured li

MLB hands lifetime ban to Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano for betting on baseball, 

Marcano allegedly bet on multiple Pirates games last season when he was on their injured list

Major League Baseball has banned San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano from the game for life after their internal investigation discovered that Marcano had placed bets on baseball games involving his own team while on the injured list during the 2023 season. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report on MLB's latest gambling scandal.

According to MLB's press release, Marcano, 24, placed 387 baseball-related bets from Oct. 16, 2022 to Nov. 1, 2023, totaling over $150,000. 231 of those bets were placed on MLB games (for a total of $87,319), and 25 of those 231 bets involved the Pittsburg Pirates, the team he was on at the time, though he was on the injured list and not playing due to a season-ending injury (from which he is still recovering). The vast majority of Marcano's bets were placed after he was injured.

MLB's investigation found that Marcano lost every parlay involving the Pirates, and won only 4.3% of his MLB bets. Marcano denies that he compromised or manipulated the Pirates games he bet on, and MLB found no evidence to contradict that.

Marcano and the Players Association have yet to comment. The Padres released a statement on Monday when the Wall Street Journal published their report.

“We are aware of an active investigation by Major League Baseball regarding a matter that occurred when the player in question was a member of another organization and not affiliated with the San Diego Padres," the Padres said in a statement, via The Wall Street Journal. "We will not have any further comment until the investigative process has been completed.”

 

MLB also announced that four other players have been suspended one year for gambling on baseball: Oakland Athletics reliever Michael Kelly, and three minor leaugers: Padres pitcher Jay Groome, Philadelphia Phillies infielder José Rodríguez, and Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Andrew Saalfrank.

Marcano held a career-high .233 batting average last season with the Pirates. He had 18 RBI, 47 hits and three home runs in 75 games. He tore his ACL in late July, and missed the rest of the season as a result.