MLB places Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias on administrative leave after arrest
LOS ANGELES — Julio Urías was placed on administrative leave indefinitely by Major League Baseball on Wednesday, three days after the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher was arrested on suspicion of corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant.
The leave was imposed under baseball’s joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy adopted by MLB and the players’ union in 2015 and can be the first step toward a suspension. Players are paid but cannot play while on leave.
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“They have to go through the process — players’ association, Julio’s group. Baseball is working through this,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said in Miami.
MLB and the union agreed to the leave, which did not specify a length. Absent an agreement, MLB could have imposed a leave of up to seven days with the possibility of a seven-day extension.
Urías was arrested late Sunday night by Department of Public Safety officers in Exposition Park, south of downtown Los Angeles. The park is home to BMO Stadium, where Lionel Messi was playing in a Major League Soccer game with numerous celebrities in attendance.
DPS offered no details Wednesday on the circumstances of the arrest, but asked for any witnesses with information regarding the incident to contact them.
Urías posted $50,000 bail and was released early Monday. He is due in court on Sept. 27.
Urías, a 27-year-old Mexican-born pitcher, was arrested in May 2019 for domestic battery. He was suspended 20 games by MLB, but he wasn’t prosecuted by the Los Angeles city attorney on the condition he complete a 52-week domestic violence counseling program. No player has been suspended twice under MLB’s joint domestic violence policy.
Urías is the second star player on a contending team placed on administrative leave by MLB in recent weeks after Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco, who is being investigated by authorities in the Dominican Republic for an alleged relationship with a minor. Urías’ attorney, Blair Berk, has not returned a message seeking comment.
DPS on Wednesday confirmed Urías’ arrest for a violation of Penal Code 273.5, which is corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant. Corporal injury on a spouse requires a bodily injury being willfully caused by physical force and is a felony.
Urías is not with the Dodgers in Miami, where they are playing a three-game series against the Marlins.
