Major League Baseball announced on Tuesday that former San Diego Padres infielder Tucupite Marcano received a lifetime ban for betting on baseball games while on the injured list. According to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, former Boston Red Sox pitching prospect Jay Groome was one of four players to receive a one-year suspension for unrelated violations of MLB’s sports betting policies.
MLB announced the following suspensions for unrelated violations of MLB’s sports betting policy:
*Padres INF/OF Tucupita Marcano: permanently ineligible
*A’s RHP Michael Kelly: 1 year
*Padres LHP Jay Groome: 1 year
*Phillies INF José Rodríguez: 1 year
*D-backs LHP Andrew…— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) June 4, 2024
MLB said its investigation began in March. That’s when the league learned from a legal sports betting operator that it had identified past baseball activity from accounts connected to major and minor league players. MLB obtained the data from that operator and other sportsbooks to authenticate the data.
Jay Groome Suspended by MLB
Groome made 24 bets on the Red Sox’s major-league club when playing with their High-A affiliate in Greenville affiliate. All 24 of those bets focused on the final outcome of Red Sox games. Groome is currently on Triple-A El Paso’s 7-day injured list and is a member of the San Diego Padres 40-man roster.
Some of Groome’s bets on baseball were parlays, with multiple including multiple baseball-related legs. Others included both MLB-related legs and non-MLB bets. Groome did not appear in any of the contests he wagered on. He also failed to make any bets on his team with the High-A affiliate. This was brought up in the statement from MLB as “there is no evidence to suggest – and Groome denies – that any outcomes in the baseball games on which [Groome] placed bets were compromised, influenced, or manipulated in any way.”
Over the course of his 32 bets, Groome placed $453.74 on 30 MLB game-related wagers. He had a net loss of $433.54 on those specific bets. Groome only received a payout and ultimately won just two of his MLB wagers. Groome is joined by Michael Kelly (Oakland Athletics), José Rodriguez (Philadelphia Phillies), and Andrew Saalfrank (Arizona Diamondbacks) as the four who were punished outside of Marcano.
The ruining of careers over so little money
Marcano bet more than $150,000 and won only 4.3% of his bets.
Kelly bet a total of $99.22
Groome bet $453.74 and had a loss of $433.54.
Rodriguez bet $749.09
Saalfrank bet $445.87 and had a with a loss of $272.64.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) June 4, 2024
Groome’s Career
Groome was the No. 12 pick of the 2016 MLB Draft. His career with Boston had its ups and downs as he was frequently out with injuries. He missed the 2018 season due to Tommy John surgery but did appear in three games in 2019. Groome returned in 2021 after missing 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was pitching for Triple-A Worcester in 2022 before being traded to the San Diego Padres.
Since joining San Diego, Groome made 43 starts for the club’s Triple-A affiliate in El Paso. He made three starts with a 6.97 ERA while posting five innings this season. Last season, Groome had a struggling 8.55 ERA in 30 starts to go with 134 2/3 innings. Through three appearances and five innings in 2024, Groome had a 3.6 ERA with five strikeouts.
Main Photo: © GABY VELASQUEZ/ EL PASO TIMES / USA TODAY NETWORK
