MLB just handed down a ban and suspensions:

MLB bans Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano for life for betting on baseball, four other players receive one-year bans.

Chron.com

More to follow.

Update: More from ESPN:

Marcano, currently a member of the San Diego Padres, was found to have placed 387 baseball bets, including 231 MLB-related wagers, between Oct. 16, 2022 and Nov. 1, 2023, totaling over $150,000.

MLB says 25 of those bets included wagers on Pirates games while he was on the team’s major league roster. However, he did not appear in any of those games because he was on the injured list following a season-ending knee injury. He was receiving medical treatment at PNC Park during that time.

Marcano bet almost exclusively on the outcomes of games and lost all of his parlay bets involving the Pirates, winning just 4.3% of all of his MLB-related bets, according to the league.

ESPN.com

In addition:

One other big leaguer, Oakland Athletics pitcher Michael Kelly, was declared ineligible for one year on Tuesday for betting on baseball while he was in the minor leaguers. Additionally, minor leaguers Jay Groome of San Diego and Jose Rodriguez of Philadelphia were banned for one year for betting on major league games.

Let’s hope this is an effective shot across the bow.

Tucupita Marcano faces a lifetime Major League Baseball ban for gambling on his team:

Marcano, 24, has yet to be formally penalized, but MLB Rule 21 explicitly states that a player who bets on games involving his own team is subject to a lifetime ban. Marcano tore an ACL last year and was on the injured list when he allegedly placed the bets, which were flagged by a sportsbook and reported to the league, according to sources.

The potential ban of Marcano comes in the wake of the NBA handing down a lifetime penalty to Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter for disclosing confidential information to bettors, limiting his participation in at least one game and betting on NBA games while playing in the G League.

ESPN.com

He played for the Pirates last season and is currently in the Padres system, but hasn’t played in 2024.

Note that he is not a very good player, with a .217/.269/.320 slash line, although he did produce high OBPs in the minor leagues. He might have thought he could make more money betting on baseball than playing it.

No involved in the investigation has made a comment.