Jarred Cosart Subject of MLB Gambling Investigation

Miami Marlins pitcher Jarred Cosart is the subject of a Major League Baseball (MLB) investigation on his alleged involvement in gambling.

Major League Baseball (MLB) is investigating Miami Marlins pitcher Jarred Cosart’s alleged involvement in gambling.

The Miami New Times’ Tim Elfrink reported on Wednesday the allegations mostly stem from Twitter. A gambling expert claims Cosart sent a message to one of his colleagues asking for pointers on betting.

MLB spokesman Pat Courtney confirms the league is probing into Cosart’s situation, per ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. 

Elfrink says Cosart eventually took down his Twitter account as tweets claiming his involvement in gambling began to mount. Suspicions of Cosart’s gambling activity stemmed from a Twitter user known as @GhostFadeKillah, who regularly tweets advice on betting.

According to Elfrink, @GhostFadeKillah tweeted the conversation between his colleague and Cosart (@JarredCosart) on March 25:

Lol @JarredCosart pic.twitter.com/GfMd4s7i7j— Ghostfade Killah (@ghostfadekillah) March 25, 2015

Cosart deleted his Twitter account after an hour, per The Miami New Times.

Crasnick stresses it remains unclear whether the allegations surrounding Cosart involve betting on baseball or sports in general. Nonetheless, ESPN cites an MLB rule prohibiting gambling in baseball:

“Any player, umpire, or club or league official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with the bettor has no duty to perform, shall be declared ineligible for one year. 

“Any player, umpire, or club or league official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform shall be declared permanently ineligible.”

However, Courtney told Crasnick it is not illegal for MLB players to legally gamble on sports other than baseball. 

MLB chief communciations officer Pat Courtney reached out to Elfrink on Wednesday and told him he and his team are investigating the matter. For his part, Cosart, his agent Erik Burkhardt and the Miami Marlins all have yet to return messages left by The Miami New Times for comment on the issue. 

ESPN did, however, obtain a statement from the Marlins which says,”Major League Baseball is aware and they are investigating it and we will have no further comment at this time.”

Just to be clear Cosart was discussing college basketball bets on both occasions. Anyone making a baseball connection is reaching.— Ghostfade Killah (@ghostfadekillah) March 25, 2015

The Miami New Times update also mentions a new Twitter account supposedly belonging to Cosart claims the original @JarredCosart account had been hacked, which is the reason why a conversation about gambling took place. Elfrink warns Twitter users to “view the latest response with caution until confirmed.”

However, Elfrink posted an update on his report several hours later saying he spoke with @GhostFadeKillah, who says the gambling conversation happened in December. This makes it doubtful Cosart’s original Twitter account had been hacked.  

Elfrink adds he left messages with the Marlins to confirm if this new Twitter account is indeed Cosart’s. 

Cosart had been the subject of Twitter controversy before. He used a gay slur when he tweeted about Justin Bieber in Feb. 2014, per Yahoo! Sports’ David Brown. Cosart, who was still with the Houston Astros back then, deleted the comment and issued an apology. 

Miami acquired Cosart in a seven-player trade with Houston five months after his controversial tweet about Bieber. The Marlins have listed him as one of their starters for the 2015 MLB season, per Crasnick. 

The 24-year-old Cosart posted a 4-4 record with a 2.39 ERA in 10 starts for the Marlins last season, per The Miami Herald’s Manny Navarro. He has gone 0-2 with an 8.49 ERA for Miami in this year’s Grapefruit League. 

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