MLB handing out discipline is a pivotal moment for the league’s simultaneous embrace of and policing legalized sports betting.
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Major League Baseball on Tuesday banned infielder Tucupita Marcano for life after he
placed bets on games involving his team and issued one-year bans to four other players who bet on MLB games, in a pivotal moment for the league’s simultaneous embrace and policing of legalized sports betting.
Four more players, including Andrew Saalfrank, a member of the National League pennant-winning Arizona Diamondbacks, received one-year bans for betting on MLB games, occurring in a period spanning July 2020 and July 2022. None of the players appealed the rulings, MLB said.
Jay Groome, a former top Red Sox prospect now in the Padres system, placed 24 of his 32 bets on the Red Sox while he was in their minor league system.
Oakland Athletics pitcher Michael Kelly, who has appeared in 46 major league games for Cleveland, Philadelphia and the A’s since 2022, placed 10 bets on MLB games in October 2021 when he was a member of the Astros organization.
Phillies minor league infielder Jose Rodriguez placed three bets on college baseball games and 28 bets on MLB games on Sept. 30, 2021 and between June 5 and June 30, 2022, when he was in the White Sox organization.