Major League Baseball’s biggest nightmare since sports gambling’s widespread legalization has come to fruition: An active player faces a suspension and potential lifetime ban for betting on baseball.
Tucupita Marcano, a utility player on the San Diego Padres’ injured list, is under investigation by MLB for gambling on baseball, according to the Wall Street Journal. Marcano, a 24-year-old native of Venezuela, reportedly placed the bets in 2023, when he was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Said the Pirates in a statement: “We are aware of the matter that’s under investigation and are fully cooperating. We will refrain from further comment at this time.”
Marcano suffered a torn ACL in his right knee in July 2023 and has been on the injured list since. The Padres, who originally signed him out of Venezuela in 2016, claimed him off waivers from Pittsburgh in November.
Under MLB’s gambling policy, players face a one-year ban for betting on a major league game and a lifetime ban if they placed bets on games involving their own team. The Journal reported that he placed bets on games involving the Pirates.
“We are aware of an active investigation by Major League Baseball regarding a matter that occurred when the player in question was a member of another organization and not affiliated with the San Diego Padres,” the Padres said in a statement released to news outlets, including USA TODAY Sports. “We will not have any further comment until the investigative process has been completed.”
MLB’s relationship with illegal gambling – dating to the 1919 World Series infamously thrown by the Chicago White Sox, through the shame of all-time hits leader Pete Rose earning a lifetime ban for betting on games he managed for the Cincinnati Reds – has given way to an uneasy embrace, since the 2018 Supreme Court decision that left legalized gambling up to the states.
The league – and virtually every team – has signed multiple official agreements with online and physical casinos, while maintaining a ban on baseball betting for its players.
“DO NOT BET ON BASEBALL,” reads a placard in major league clubhouses, with a QR code sending them to a web site that spells out baseball’s gambling policy. It states that players may not bet on baseball at any level, nor can they ask others to place bets on their behalf.
Yet the Marcano investigation is the league’s second high-profile scandal just two months into the season. Ippei Mizuhara, the longtime interpreter for dual-threat superstar Shohei Ohtani, was fired by the Los Angeles Dodgers and has reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors after he allegedly stole nearly $17 million from Ohtani.
Mizuhara has said he has an online account with DraftKings and assumed the bets with the alleged bookmaker were legal.
That federal probe also sparked an investigation into longtime major league infielder David Fletcher, who introduced Mizuhara to the alleged bookmaker and, ESPN reported, placed bets on sports other than baseball with the bookie. Fletcher is currently with the Atlanta Braves’ Class AAA team.
Since the 2018 Supreme Court decision, 38 states, including Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia have legalized sports gambling. MLB has official partnerships with online casinos FanDuel, DraftKings and MGM.
Marcano made his major league debut for the Padres in 2021 and has played in 149 career games, with a .217 average, five home runs and a .589 OPS. He was traded along with outfielder Jack Suwinski to Pittsburgh in July 2021 in exchange for infielder Adam Frazier.