Padres’ Tucupita Marcano receives lifetime ban for gambling on own team
May 5, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Tucupita Marcano (30) prior to the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
Major League Baseball announced on Tuesday that San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano has been permanently banned from the league for gambling on baseball.
In a press release, MLB revealed that an investigation determined that Marcano bet more than $150,000 on baseball, with $87,319 worth of the wagers involving MLB games. Marcano placed the bets over a period of a week in October 2022 and a roughly four-month span from July 2023 to November 2023.
Marcano placed more than 200 bets involving MLB games, with 25 of the bets involving the Pittsburgh Pirates when Marcano was on the team’s Major League roster. According to investigators, “almost all” of Marcano’s bets on the Pirates involved Pittsburgh winning or the over/under run total in his team’s games. There is no evidence to suggest that the outcome of any of the games on which Marcano placed bets was influenced.
Here is MLB's account of the baseball betting by Tucupita Marcano that caused him to be banned from baseball "permanently."
231 bets on baseball
Baseball bets totaling $87,319
25 bets on the Pirates while he was a Pirates player pic.twitter.com/WTEAslhqel— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) June 4, 2024
In total, MLB determined that Marcano placed 231 MLB-related wagers and won just 4.3% of them.
MLB also announced that four other players — Oakland Athletics reliever Michael Kelly, Padres minor-league pitcher Jay Groome, Philadelphia Phillies minor-league infielder José Rodríguez, and Arizona Diamondbacks minor-league pitcher Andrew Saalfrank — have each been banned one year for unrelated violations of the league’s gambling policy.
Betting on baseball is strictly prohibited by MLB rules. Players found to have bet on their own team face a lifetime ban, while those who bet on other teams can be suspended for up to a year. Betting on sports other than baseball is permitted as long as the bets are placed legally. At least one player is being investigated for involvement with the same illegal bookie that ensnared Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter.
Marcano, 24, played parts of three seasons in MLB with the Padres and Pirates. He was a career .217 hitter and had generally been used as a backup utility infielder since making his debut in 2021. He had not played this season as he recovers from an ACL injury he suffered last year.