Los Angeles Dodgers young pitcher Julio Urias was activated from administrative leave ahead of Tuesday’s series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Urias was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence after an incident that took place between him and his girlfriend a week ago at the Beverly Center.
Per the current Major League Baseball collective bargaining agreement, Urias was placed on seven-day administrative leave so MLB could investigate the incident. Reports indicate that MLB was unable to obtain video from the incident from the Beverly Center though which led to Urias being reinstated. The Dodgers did not have the option of keeping Urias on administrative leave or sending him down to the Minor Leagues due to the CBA.
Urias spoke about the incident for the first team before Tuesday night’s game, saying that he is cooperating with the ongoing investigation and is happy to be back with his teammates, per Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
#Dodgers Julio Urias thru interpreter: "I'm cooperating with Major League Baseball. They're the ones in charge of the investigation. I'm just happy to be back in here and grateful my teammates welcomed me back in the clubhouse."
Addressed team privately when he arrived in Tampa— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) May 21, 2019
Urias also thanked his teammates for remaining supportive through all of the adversity he has faced:
#Dodgers Julio Urias thru interpreter: "Now that I'm back I'm going to focus on baseball. I've been through a lot of things from the (shoulder) surgery to everything else and they (teammates) have always supported me and they continue to support me."
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) May 21, 2019
Unless the video gets released, it is hard to see MLB coming down on Urias with any significant punishment. According to a report, the incident was not believed to be serious and Urias did not act in a physical harmful manner towards his girlfriend.
It will be interesting to see how much the Dodgers pitch him until the investigation is resolved though. The Dodgers have taken a strict stance on domestic violence in the past, most notably pulling out of a trade for Aroldis Chapman in 2015.
