Two Major League Baseball players and three minor league players received sports betting suspensions Tuesday, including Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Tucupita Marcano, who received a lifetime ban. Marcano wagered more than $150,000 on baseball games, including $87,319 on MLB games.
None of the five players competed in games they wagered on, and there isn't any evidence to suggest game outcomes were compromised, according to MLB's release.
“The strict enforcement of Major League Baseball'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 in a press release. “The longstanding prohibition against betting on Major League Baseball games by those in the sport has been a bedrock principle for over a century.”
In addition to Marcano's lifetime ban from Major League Baseball, Athletics pitcher Michael Kelly, Padres pitcher Jay Groome, Phillies infielder Jose Rodriguez, and Diamondbacks pitcher Andrew Saalfrank all received one-year suspensions. None of those four players wagered more than $1,000 on MLB games.