Former Red Sox 1st-round pick pick suspended 1 year for betting on baseball (report)
Former Red Sox first-round pick Jay Groome was one of four players suspended for at least one year by the league Tuesday for betting on baseball. This also included wagers placed on Boston’s major league team while he was a minor leaguer in the organization in 2020 and 2021.
Groome, who is now in the Padres system, is now banned from the league for one year for violating MLB’s sports betting rules and policies.
According to the league:
* Betting data shows that from July 22, 2020, through July 24, 2021, Groome placed 32 MLB-related bets. Of those, 24 bets involved the Red Sox Major League Club, all of which Groome placed while he was assigned to the Red Sox’ High-A affiliate in Greenville, South Carolina. All 24 of Groome’s Red Sox bets were on the final outcome.
* In total, Groome bet $453.74 on 30 MLB game-related bets (an average of approximately $15.12 per bet) and had a net loss of $433.54 on these bets. Ultimately, Groome only received payouts on two of his MLB bets.
* Groome’s MLB bets included parlays, which sometimes included multiple MLB-related legs and would sometimes include MLB-related legs and non-MLB legs.
* Groome did not appear in any of the games on which he bet, and he did not make any bets involving his assigned team. There is no evidence to suggest — and Groome denies—that any outcomes in the baseball games on which he placed bets were compromised, influenced, or manipulated in any way.
The Red Sox declined to comment on Groom’s situation but voiced support for the league’s betting policy.
“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,” Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “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."
Groome, 25, was the Red Sox first-round pick during the 2016 MLB Draft after the team selected him out of high school with the 12th overall pick.
He struggled with injuries and performance while in Boston’s system and was ultimately traded to the Padres in 2022 for first baseman Eric Hosmer, outfielder Corey Rosier, and infielder Max Ferguson.
In addition to Groome, the league suspended Oakland’s Michael Kelly, Philadelphia’s José Rodriguez, and Arizona’s Andrew Saalfrank for one year for betting on baseball. Major League Baseball also issued a lifetime ban to the Padres’ Tucupita Marcano.
