Major League Baseball announced that following investigations by its Investigations Department, disciplinary action has been taken against the following Major League players: Venezuelan Tucupita Marcano (infielder/outfielder for the San Diego Padres) and Michael Kelly (pitcher for the Athletics Oakland); and Minor League players Jay Groome (Padres pitcher), José Rodríguez (Phillies infielder) and Andrew Saalfrank (Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher) for unrelated violations of the rules and regulations. MLB policies on sports betting. MLB’s investigations included interviews, exhaustive reviews of information available in each case, and significant cooperation from MLB’s partners in legal betting.
In March 2024, MLB learned of a legal sports betting operator who had identified past activity from accounts associated with multiple Major League and Minor League players. MLB obtained data from that operator and others, including authenticating data for bets. None of these players participated in any matches in which they placed a bet. Furthermore, all players denied that they had any privileged information relevant to the bets, nor that any of the games they bet on were altered or manipulated. The betting data suggests that none of the games they bet on were affected, influenced or manipulated in any way. Neither player will appeal their discipline.
Under Major League Rule 21, “Any player, umpire or official or employee of a Club and the League who bets any sum on any baseball game in which the bettor has no duty to act, will be declared ineligible by a anus. Furthermore, “Any player, umpire or official or employee of a Club and the League who bets any sum on any baseball game in which the bettor has the duty of actual, will be declared permanently ineligible.”
Commissioner of Baseball Robert D. Manfred, Jr. said: “Strictly enforcing Major League Baseball’s rules and policies in governing betting conduct is a crucial component of sustaining our highest priority. : Protect the integrity of our games for fans. The long-standing ban on betting on Major League Baseball games by those in the sport has been a bedrock principle for more than a century. We have been clear that the privilege of playing baseball comes with a responsibility to refrain from certain types of conduct that are legal for other people. Since the Supreme Court’s decision opened the doors to legal sports betting, we have worked with legal sports betting operators and other third parties to put ourselves in a better position from an integrity standpoint, through transparency that a regulated sports betting system can provide. “MLB will continue to invest heavily in integrity monitoring, educational programs and awareness initiatives, with the goal of ensuring strict compliance with this fundamental rule of our game.”
The following players have been disciplined for violating Major League Baseball Rule 21 and the Major League and Minor League sports betting policy applicable at the time of their bets:
Infielder/outfielder TUCUPITA MARCANO has been declared permanently ineligible for violating MLB sports betting rules and policies, including Rule 21(d)(2).
Oakland Athletics Major League pitcher MICHAEL KELLY has been declared ineligible for one year for violating MLB’s sports betting rules and policies, including Rule 21(d)(1).
Padres Minor League pitcher JAY GROOME has been declared ineligible for one year for violating MLB rules and policies on sports betting, including Rule 21(d)(1).
Philadelphia Phillies Minor League infielder JOSE RODRÍGUEZ has been declared ineligible for one year for violating MLB’s sports betting rules and policies, including Rule 21(d)(1).
Arizona Diamondbacks Minor League pitcher ANDREW SAALFRANK has been declared ineligible for one year for violating MLB’s sports betting rules and policies, including Rule 21(d)(1).
MLB requires its personnel to participate annually in sports betting educational programs that reiterate the policies applicable to the respective groups. Each Spring Training, all Major League and Minor League players are required to attend in-person sessions that specify the requirements of Major League Rule 21 and the Sports Betting Policy, as well as other best practices. MLB conducts a wide range of awareness programs in English and Spanish that reach players as they begin their professional baseball careers, as they approach the Major Leagues, and as they begin each new season. MLB’s efforts also include in-person sessions for Minor League players and other employees on how to avoid gambling-related harms in their professional and personal lives.
