San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano has been banned for life from Major League Baseball following an investigation into reported violations of the league’s betting rules.
Marcano is alleged to have placed 387 baseball bets, including 231 MLB-related wagers, of which at least 25 bets were placed while he was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates. In total, the investigation believes the Venezuelan born infielder wagered at least $87,000 on MLB-related bets.
The report did however mention that it doesn’t believe that the outcome of any of the games in question were affected by Marcano’s wagers as he did not feature in any of the games he placed money on.
Originally signing as an international free agent with the Padres back in 2016, Marcano made his MLB debut for San Diego on April 1st 2021. He would go on to spend two seasons with the Pirates, before being reclaimed off waivers by the Padres in November of 2023.
The 24 year old sports a career .217 batting average with 5 home runs and 34 RBIs at the Major League level. He began the 2024 campaign on the injured list as he rehabbed from ACL surgery.
However, Marcano wasn’t the only player hit with a suspension on Tuesday. Oakland Athletics pitcher Michael Kelly received a one-year ban for violating terms of the league’s betting protocols. As did Padres minor-league pitcher Jay Groome, Philadelphia Phillies minor-leaguer Jose Rodriguez and Arizona Diamondbacks minor-league pitcher Andrew Saalfrank.
Across 28 games this season with Oakland, Kelly recorded a 3-2 record with a 2.59 ERA, and 1.18 WHIP in 31.1 IP. The 31 year old was in the midst of his third season in the Majors, and first with the Athletics organization.
Photo: Minda Haas Kuhlmann. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.