An off day last week brought about negative news for the Los Angeles Dodgers as Julio Urias was arrested on suspicion of domestic battery. He was arrested at the Beverly Center and posted bail the following morning.
The Dodgers and MLB issued a statement to acknowledge the incident , and Urias was placed on a seven-day administrative leave as the league launched their investigation. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the club was going to defer to MLB and allow the process to unfold.
In previous cases, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has often extended an administrative leave if the investigation had not yet been completed. The general consensus was that would likely be applied to Urias’ case.
However, he reportedly will join the Dodgers for the start of their series with the Tampa Bay Rays, according to Jorge Castillo of the L.A. Times:
Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias is expected to be reinstated from paid administrative leave and activated Tuesday, according to two people with knowledge of the situation, eight days after he was arrested on suspicion of domestic battery. The people requested anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly on the situation. The decision was made by the commissioner’s office in coordination with the Major League Baseball Players’ Association as outlined in baseball’s collective bargaining agreement.
With Urias expected to return, the indication is he avoided suspension. Though, it’s unclear if MLB may have levied some other form of punishment.
This will have marked a second time a Dodgers player was not suspended after being investigated for a possible domestic violence incident. Yasiel Puig was investigated and cleared from allegations that stemmed from a November 2015 incident.
Suspensions under the domestic violence policy that was established in 2016 have ranged from 15 to 100 games. Some of the recent cases have included Roberto Osuna receiving a 75-game ban in 2018 while he was with the Toronto Blue Jays. Chicago Cubs infielder Addison Russell received a 40-game suspension last year after his ex-wife accused him of physical and emotional abuse.
While not to excuse Urias’ possibly getting physical with a female, the surveillance video suggested there was not an intent to harm her. That presumably factored heavily into the left-hander making a quick return.
The Dodgers will be required to make a corresponding roster move in order to activate Urias. He’s appeared in nine games (four starts) thus far in 2019, going 2-2 with a 3.18 ERA, 3.02 FIP and 1.10 WHIP.
