In June 2024, Jay Groome received a one-year suspension for breaking MLB’s gambling policy by placing bets of less than $1,000 on major league games while still a minor.
Groome was fired into free agency on Thursday by the San Diego Padres, with no other alternatives left and his suspension coming to an end.
San Diego Plans to Reinstate Pitcher Jay Groome
According to MLB Trade Rumors, the Padres are non-tendering left-handed pitcher Jay Groome. Any player on a roster during the season has already signed as a free agent or had a contract tendered by his club over the winter; non-tenders are saved for the summer.
However, MLBTR has confirmed that Groome could not be tendered a contract or non-tendered because he was on the ineligible list throughout the summer. Until he qualified for reinstatement, that decision had to wait.
Padres Non-Tender Jay Groome https://t.co/qcR8IvEam1 pic.twitter.com/5mnQuxFMyC
— MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) June 5, 2025
The 26-year-old southpaw began his career as a first-round selection of the Red Sox in 2016, and at the beginning of 2017, he was ranked as baseball’s 41st prospect. Up to the 2022 deadline, Groome was a vital component of the Red Sox’s organizational system. However, he was traded to the Padres for two minor leaguers and former All-Star first baseman Eric Hosmer.
Groome went 4-10 in 2023 with an 8.55 ERA, 2.101 WHIP, and 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings over 134.2 innings, following a 7-7 record in 2022 with a 3.44 ERA, 1.326 WHIP, and 8.8 strikeouts per nine innings over 144.0 innings.
After making three Triple-A starts in 2024 and compiling a 3.60 ERA, 1.200 WHIP, and 9.0 strikeouts per nine innings, Groome appeared to be on the mend, but his ban ended his season early.
The once-talented pitcher is now available for signing with any team.
Andrew Saalfrank was one of three players punished for gambling in June of last year, except for Tucupita Marcano, who received a life ban. Others are Francisco Rodriguez and Michael Kelly.
All three have already returned to their teams’ rosters or are anticipated to do so soon. According to MLB, Marcano used a legitimate sportsbook to place 387 baseball wagers totaling over $150,000 in October 2022 and from July to November of last year. The 24-year-old Venezuelan, who has played in 149 major league games, was the first player to be permanently banned for gambling in a century.
Kelly of the Oakland Athletics received a one-year suspension for baseball betting while in the minor leagues, and three minor leaguers, infielder Rodríguez of Philadelphia, pitcher Groome of San Diego, and Andrew Saalfrank of Arizona, were also given one-year bans for betting on major league games. All four of the players wagered less than $1,000.
Although Groome was not warmly received upon his return to San Diego, he could potentially sign a minor league contract with the Padres as a free agent.
It’s unclear how the baseball community will handle offenders going ahead, even after MLB posthumously lifted lifetime bans on Pete Rose, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, and others a month ago.