November 28, 2024

Meet the five players MLB suspended for betting on baseball

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The latest group of athletes suspended for sports betting include a reliever with World Series experience, two former first-round picks and two marginal MLB players.

MLB suspended five players Tuesday for violating the league’s sports betting policy, including a lifetime ban for Padres utility player Tucupita Marcano.

The other four, who each received one-year suspensions, are Athletics reliever Michael Kelly, Padres pitching prospect Jay Groome, Phillies infield prospect Jose Rodriguez and Diamondbacks reliever/prospect Andrew Saalfrank.

Here’s a quick breakdown of each player.

Marcano, 24, did not play in the majors in 2024 after tearing his ACL last year.

The light-hitting infielder posted a career slash line of .217/.269/.320/.589 with five homers and 34 RBIs spanning 149 games with the Padres and Pirates.

Marcano began his career with the Padres before landing in Pittsburgh following the 2021 trade that brought Adam Frazier to San Diego.

He posted a career-best .633 OPS while hitting .233 last season for Pittsburgh.

The Padres claimed him off waivers this past offseason, despite his injury

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Andrew Saalfrank

Saalfrank helped the Diamondbacks reach the World Series last year, posting a 3.18 ERA across 11 playoff outings as a lefty specialist.

He threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings spanning three outings in the World Series.

Saalfrank, 26, appeared in one game this season, allowing four runs in one inning.

He’s pitched in 12 regular-season games since making his debut last year and owns a 3.18 ERA.

The Diamondbacks selected him in the sixth round of the 2019 MLB Draft.

Michael Kelly

Kelly was the only player among the five who was on an active MLB roster.

The 31-year-old righty posted a 2.59 ERA across 29 games for Oakland and has appeared in 46 games across three seasons since debuting with the Phillies in 2022.

He spent the 2023 season with the Guardians, going 1-0 with a 3.78 ERA.

The Padres originally drafted Kelly in the first round (No. 48) of the 2011 MLB Draft, before he began bouncing around to different organizations.

Jay Groome

Groome has the best pedigree of the five, having been selected by the Red Sox with the 12th pick in the 2016 MLB Draft.

Injuries, though, and a dip in production have prevented the Barnegat Township, N.J., native from reaching the majors.

Boston later flipped Groome to the Padres in a 2022 trade for Eric Hosmer, and he posted a 3.60 ERA spanning three starts with Triple-A El Paso this season.

Groome, 25, has appeared in 103 minor-league games, tallying a 5.54 ERA.

Jose Rodriguez

Rodriguez, 23, appeared in one game with the 2023 White Sox, scoring a run after entering as a pinch-runner.

The Phillies acquired Rodriguez in April from the White Sox after being designed for assignment.

The utility infielder appeared in 38 games this season with Philadelphia’s Double-A Reading team, hitting .265 with a .751 OPS.

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