MLB Bans Tucupita Marcano for Life for Betting on Baseball

Tucupita Marcano, seen here playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates in July 2023, has been permanently booted from baseball for betting on games he played in. (Image: Gregory Bull/Associated Press) 

Major League Baseball has issued a lifetime ban to San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano on Tuesday after finding that he placed hundreds of bets on baseball, including some on a team he was playing for at the time.

The MLB Department of Investigations found that Marcano placed 231 MLB bets, and 387 in total on the sport of baseball, through a legal sportsbook in 2022 and 2023.

Marcano Bet on Pirates Games While on Roster

The most damning wagers came in 2023, when Marcano placed 25 bets on Pirates games. While those wagers all came after Marcano was on the injured list with a season-ending knee issue, he was still on the team roster, which led to the lifetime ban.

Marcano is the first MLB player known to have received a lifetime ban for gambling since Pete Rose agreed to such a ban in 1989 for betting on Cincinnati Reds games while he was a player and manager for the team. He’s also the first player that MLB has affirmatively banned – without such an agreement – since New York Giants outfielder Jimmy O’Connell a century ago in 1924.

“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 statement. “The longstanding prohibition against betting on Major League Baseball 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.”

Marcano was banned under MLB Rule 21(d)(2), which states that “any player, umpire, or Club or League official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform, shall be declared permanently ineligible.” 

According to MLB investigators, Marcano bet over $150,000 on baseball, including more than $87,000 on MLB games. He apparently won just 4.3 percent of his MLB-related bets, mostly due to losing every single parlay he bet on involving the Pirates.

Marcano had not played yet this season as he continued to recover from his injury. In three MLB seasons, Marcano hit .217 with five home runs in 447 plate appearances.

Four Players Face One-Year Ban for Betting 

MLB Rule 21(d)(1) also prohibits players and other MLB employees from betting on baseball in general, with a one-year ban proscribed for any bet on a game an individual wasn’t involved in. 

On Tuesday, MLB also suspended four players for one year under that rule. Those players including Oakland Athletics pitcher Michael Kelly, Philadelphia Phillies minor-leaguer Jose Rodriguez, Arizona Diamondbacks minor-leaguer Andrew Sallfrank, and Padres minor leaguer Jay Groome. MLB’s Department of Investigations found that all four players had made bets on MLB games while playing in the minor leagues. 

The information in those cases was also sent to MLB via a legal sports betting operator who identified that the players had placed bets on baseball. MLB officials say that there is no evidence that the integrity of any of those games was compromised. 

Mizuhara Pleads Guilty to Fraud in Ohtani Case

The suspensions come on the same day that Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Ippei Mizuhara, pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud charges in a California federal court. 

During the hearing, Mizuhara acknowledged that he siphoned money out of Ohtani’s bank account to pay for his own gambling debts.

“I worked for Vitim A [Ohtani] and I had access to his bank account and I had fallen into major gambling debt, and the only way that I could think of was to use his money,” Mizuhara said in court. “I had access to Bank A. So I went ahead and wired money for my gambling debt with his bank account.”

Mizuhara could face up to 33 years in prison for the two counts against him. Sentencing in the case has been set for Oct. 25. 

MLB officials said that the guilty plea also ends their investigation into the matter.

“Based on the thoroughness of the federal investigation that was made public, the information MLB collected, and the criminal proceeding being resolved without being contested, MLB considers Shohei Ohtani a victim of fraud and this matter has been closed,” MLB said in a statement.