Padres' Tucupita Marcano, said to have placed 387 baseball bets, banned by MLB

June 4 (UPI) -- MLB levied a lifetime ban against San Diego Padres infielder/outfielder Tucupita Marcano, who placed 387 bets on baseball in 2022 and 2023, the league announced Tuesday.

MLB also issued one-year bans to Oakland Athletics pitcher Michael Kelly and minor league players Jay Groome (Padres), Jose Rodriguez (Philadelphia Phillies) and Andrew Saalfrank (Arizona Diamondbacks) for unrelated violations of league sports betting rules.

"The strict enforcement of MLB's rules and policies governing gambling conduct is a critical component of upholding our most important priority: protecting the integrity of our games for the fans," MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said.

"The longstanding prohibition against betting on MLB games by those in the sport has been a bedrock principle for over a century. We have been clear that the privilege of playing in baseball comes with a responsibility to refrain from engaging in certain types of behavior that are legal for other people."

MLB's investigations into the matter included interviews and cooperation from the league's legal sportsbook partners. In March, a legal sports betting operator informed MLB that it "identified past baseball betting activity from accounts connected to multiple Major and Minor League players."

Data obtained from the operator and other sportsbooks showed that none of the players played in any of the games of which they had bet on. The players also denied they had inside information relevant to the bets.

None of the players is appealing the disciplinary measures.

MLB rules specify that any player or club or league official or employee who bets on a baseball game that they are not involved in shall be declared ineligible for one year. Those parties who bet on baseball games that are involved in will be deemed permanently ineligible.

"Since the Supreme Court decision opened the door to legalized sports betting, we have worked with licensed sports betting operators and other third parties to put ourselves in a better position from an integrity perspective through the transparency that a regulated sports betting system can provide," Manfred said.

"MLB will continue to invest heavily in integrity monitoring, educational programming and awareness initiatives with the goal of ensuring strict adherence to this fundamental rule of our game."

Betting data evaluated by MLB showed that Marcano placed 387 baseball bets, including 231 related to MLB, through a legal sportsbook from Oct. 16 to 23, 2022, and from July 12 to Nov. 1. Of those 231 MLB bets, 25 involved Pittsburgh Pirates games while he was a member of the team, but he did not play in those contests.

The majority of his overall bets were placed after he sustained a season-ending knee injury in 2023.

Overall, Marcano bet more than $150,000 on baseball, with $87,319 of those wagers related to MLB. MLB stated that Marcano lost all of his parlay wagers involving the Pirates and "only won 4.3%" of his MLB-related bets.

Kelly, Groome, Rodriguez and Saalfrank each were declared ineligible for one year. Kelly bet $99.22 on MLB games. Groome placed $453.74 in wagers on MLB-related events. Rodriguez bet $724.09 on MLB-related events. Data provided to MLB showed Saalfrank's MLB-related wagers totaled $444.07.

Marcano, 24, made his MLB debut in 2021 for the Padres. The Padres traded the utility man to the Pirates in 2021. He rejoined the Padres off waivers in November. Marcano hit .217 with five home runs and 34 RBIs through 149 MLB appearances.

Kelly, 31, went 3-2 with a 2.59 ERA over 28 appearances last season for the Athletics. The former Cleveland Guardians and Philadelphia Phillies pitcher has a career 4-2 record with a 2.94 ERA over 46 appearances.

Groome, 25, posted a 19-34 record with a 5.54 ERA over 103 minor league appearances. Rodriguez, 23, went 0 for 1 with an RBI in one appearance last season for the Chicago White Sox.

He hit .265 with four homers, 18 RBIs and 12 steals over 38 appearances for the Class-AA Reading Fightin Phils. The infielder owns a .282 average with 61 homers over 465 career minor league appearances.

Saalfrank, 26, allowed two hits and four runs in two appearances this season for the Diamondbacks. He posted a 1.74 ERA over 10 appearances last season for the MLB franchise. Saalfrank has a 2.97 ERA and 16-7 record over 108 career minor league appearances.