(Reuters) – San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano has been permanently banned from Major League Baseball for placing hundred of bets on baseball, including games involving the Pittsburgh Pirates last season when he was a member of the team, MLB said on Tuesday.
According to MLB, Marcano did not appear in any of the games on which he placed bets as his Pirates-related wagers occurred after he suffered a season-ending knee injury last July.
“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.”
According to data obtained from a legal sports betting operator, MLB concluded that Marcano placed 387 baseball bets, including 231 MLB-related wagers from Oct. 16-23, 2022 and from July 12, 2023 through Nov. 1, 2023.
In total, MLB said Marcano bet more than $150,000 on baseball, with $87,319 of that on MLB-related bets.
MLB also said there is no evidence to suggest — and Marcano denies — that any outcomes in the baseball games on which he placed bets were compromised, influenced, or manipulated in any way.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
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