Major League Baseball (MLB) has reinstated four players who served a one-year suspension for betting on baseball games. Andrew Saalfrank (Arizona Diamondbacks), Michael Kelly (Oakland Athletics), Jay Groome (San Diego Padres), and José Rodríguez (Philadelphia Phillies) were all served with the suspensions in June last year and are now eligible to play again.
Sports betting is allowed for professional baseball players, but MLB forbids players from betting on baseball games, and there are more serious penalties if players wager on games involving their own team.
Tucupita Marcano was given a lifetime ban last year for betting more than $150,000 on matches, including wagers on Pirates games while on their roster.
Mixed fortunes for returning players
Kelly has already featured for Oakland, pitching 1⅓ scoreless innings to help the A’s to a 14-3 win over Minnesota on Thursday. Kelly’s bets were of the lowest value; he wagered $99.22 over 12 days in October 2021, with none involving his team.
Groome, who placed bets of $453.74 over three days in July 2021, has been non-tenured by the Padres and is now available as a free agent. The bets were placed while he was at the Boston Red Sox, and the violations only came to light after he was traded to San Diego in exchange for former All-Star first baseman Eric Hosmer and two minor leaguers.
Rodriguez was initially welcomed back to the Phillies’ training camp, but has also been non-tenured. He was found guilty of wagering $749.09 from September 2021 through June 2022.
Saalfrank, meanwhile, has been optioned to the Arizona Complex League. The pitcher had placed 29 bets totaling $445, including four on Diamondbacks games while in the minors.
MLB betting and integrity measures
MLB collaborates with sports betting apps to monitor betting activities and ensure compliance with league rules. The league has also spoken out against the rise of prediction markets, warning that they risk the integrity of the sport if not properly regulated.
Bryan Seeley, MLB’s Executive Vice President of Legal and Operations, wrote a letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) emphasizing that “protecting the integrity of competition is, and always has been, MLB’s top priority.”
The letter went on to add that the MLB has worked to “(1) incorporate strong integrity protections in state sports betting laws and regulations, (2) establish partnerships with legal sportsbooks that facilitate information sharing for integrity purposes, and (3) build collaborative relationships with state-level gaming regulators.”
Joe Jackson and Pete Ross were recently reinstated by the MLB, allowing both players to be considered for entry into the Hall of Fame. Jackson was among eight Black Sox banned from baseball for throwing the 1919 World Series. Ross was also banned from the sport after betting on games as both player and manager during the 1980s.
With the legalization of sports betting in most US states, today’s players face less harsh punishments, and the four returnees will be hoping they can make successful comebacks.
Adam is an experienced writer with years of experience in the gambling industry. He has worked as a content writer and editor for five years on sites such as Oddschecker, CoinTelegraph and Gambling Industry News, bringing excellent knowledge of the world of sports betting and online gambling. Adam focuses on emerging stories in the ever changing landscape of betting in the US. Read the latest on prediction markets, changing legislation, and sweepstakes.
