Four players suspended for violating Major League Baseball’s gambling policy were reinstated on Thursday.
Key Takeaways
- None of the players wagered on their assigned team, which would’ve come with a lifetime ban
- Michael Kelly pitched out of the bullpen in his first game back with the Athletics
- The group served a one-year suspension for violating Rule 21
Pitchers Michael Kelly (Athletics), Jay Groome (San Diego Padres), and Andrew Saalfrank (Arizona Diamondbacks), and infielder José Rodriguez (Philadelphia Phillies) completed their year-long suspension for betting on baseball, the Associated Press reported.
None of the players wagered on games involving their assigned team.
Still, an MLB investigation last year found that the four players violated Rule 21, which states “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 no duty to perform, shall be declared ineligible for one year.”
Player infractions
Kelly bet less than $100 total on five games. Rodríguez wagered nearly $750 total on parlays. Groome made $453 parlay wagers on legs that included MLB teams, and Saalfrank’s 28 wagers on parlays and prop bets totaled $445.
“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 last year.
“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.”
Kelly was reinstated by the Athletics immediately and pitched 1 ⅓ innings against Minnesota, allowing no hits, striking out two batters, and walking one in a 14-3 victory.
“The last day when he walked out of the clubhouse, I told him to focus on getting through this and continue to prep to be back in the uniform,” Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said. “To have him in a game today and see him have success, it couldn’t been a better part of the day.”
The Diamondbacks sent Saalfrank to their rookie-level Arizona League Complex. Groome and Rodriguez were not under contract, so both are currently free agents.
Don’t get banned
When MLB handed out the one-year suspensions last June, the league also gave Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano a permanent ban. An investigation found that Marcano placed nearly 400 bets on baseball games, including over two dozen wagers on his team, totaling over $87,000.
Marcano didn’t play in any of the games he bet on, but he still violated the second section of Rule 21, which states that any player “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.”
Marcano was the most prominent player to receive a lifetime ban since Pete Rose in 1989. The late Reds legend wagered on games as a manager and was banned from the sport until May 13, when Manfred reinstated Rose and 16 other deceased individuals who were removed from the “permanently ineligible” list.
