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Tucupita Marcano, an infielder for the San Diego Padres, has reportedly been banned for life from MLB for betting on MLB, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.
“San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano has been banned from baseball for gambling. According to MLB, Marcano won only 4.3% of the 231 MLB-related bets he placed,” Passan wrote on X (former Twitter).
A number of other players received punishments for betting as well, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.
MLB announced the following suspensions for unrelated violations of MLB's sports betting policy:
*Padres INF/OF Tucupita Marcano: permanently ineligible
*A's RHP Michael Kelly: 1 year
*Padres LHP Jay Groome: 1 year
*Phillies INF José Rodríguez: 1 year
*D-backs LHP Andrew…— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) June 4, 2024
Only Marcano received a lifetime ban, however.
Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports that Marcano received the lifetime ban because he bet on his own team while with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2023. He reportedly made the bets while on the injured list.
Robert Murray of FanSided reports that Tucupita Marcano placed 231 bets related to MLB. In addition to only winning 4.3 percent of the bets. He lost all of his parlays.
Marcano denied that the outcomes of any of the games he bet on were compromised, MLB reports via Jayson Stark of The Athletic. Additionally, no evidence suggested that games were compromised.
Still, Marcano committed a serious offense in the baseball world and he is now permanently banned from MLB.
Tucupita Marcano's MLB career
Marcano was once regarded as a promising prospect. He made his MLB debut in 2021 with the Padres. However, San Diego ultimately dealt him to the Pirates in a deal for infielder Adam Frazier before the 2021 trade deadline. Marcano spent a significant amount of time on the injured list in 2023 while in Pittsburgh.
His bets were reportedly placed while he was on the injured list.
Before any of that information was publicly known, Marcano landed on waivers after the 2023 season and the Padres claimed him. San Diego had previously seen his potential and likely believed Marcano could potentially play a role for the big league club at some point down the road.
He battled injury trouble in 2024, however. And now, given this recent news, Marcano will not play in MLB again.
He finishes his career with a slash line of .217/.269/.320/.589. Marcano recorded five home runs, 19 doubles, 34 RBI, seven stolen bases, and 88 hits across 149 total MLB games.
MLB's findings
The following is what MLB reported about Tucupita Marcano's betting activity, via Jayson Stark.
“Betting data shows that from October 16, 2022 through October 23, 2022 and from July 12, 2023 through November 1, 2023, Marcano placed 387 baseball bets, including 231 MLB-related bets among other bets on international baseball games through a legal sportsbook. Marcano's MLB bets were generally parlays, which would sometimes include multiple MLB-related legs, and they would sometimes include MLB-related legs and non-MLB legs.
“In total, Marcano bet more than $150,000 on baseball, with $87,319 of that on MLB-related bets (an average of approximately $378 per bet).”
It is an unfortunate way for Marcano's MLB career to come to an end. Hopefully other athletes, not just baseball players, will learn from this. Athletes betting on their sports has unfortunately become an issue that leagues are trying to contain. One would imagine that the risk of a permanent ban from their sport will cause professional athletes to think twice before betting on their sport moving forward.
