Philadelphia Phillies Infielder Suspended for Gambling on MLB

A Philadelphia Phillies 40-man player was suspended by Major League Baseball for one year.

Apr 12, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; A view of the helmet of Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto (10) displaying the City Connect logo before the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citizens Bank Park. / Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports

Five players were banned or suspended from Major League Baseball on Tuesday for violating the league's gambling policy. Philadelphia Phillies infielder, Jose Rodriguez, who was a member of the 40-man roster, has been declared ineligible for one year, according to Matt Gelb of The Athletic.

According to the league's investigation, betting data shows that Rodriguez placed 31 baseball bets, which included three on college baseball and 28 on Major League Baseball.

"His MLB bets included seven bets involving the White Sox' Major League team while he was assigned to the White Sox' Double-A affiliate in Birmingham, Alabama. Two Club-related bets involved the outcomes and his other Club-related bets were on whether there would be more or less than a certain number of runs scored in the game."

According to the league, Rodriguez bet just $749.09 on baseball with $724.09 of that on Major League baseball. He's now suspended for a year over an average bet size of $25.86.

The wagers included parlays, which included MLB-related legs.

Fortunately, Rodriguez didn't place any wagers on games he was involved in and didn't have any bets involving his assigned team.

He denies that any outcomes in the baseball games that he bet on were compromised or manipulated in any way. There's no evidence to suggest he's lying about that.

At 23 years old, the infielder out of the Dominican Republic was putting together a decent season in AA.

In 38 games, he was slashing .265/.329/.422 with four home runs. Known for having above average speed, Rodriguez is coming off three straight seasons with at least 30 stolen bases.

He already had 12 in 2024.

He has 61 home runs in 1,940 career MiLB at-bats, including an impressive slash line of .282/.324/.444.

It's an unfortunate situation all around for many reasons, but hopefully, this will help other players around the league understand the type of punishment they'll receive if they do anything similar.