Two days before the Toronto Blue Jays were planning to honor him with a t-shirt giveaway, closer Roberto Osuna has been placed on administrative leave by Major League Baseball after he was arrested by Toronto police and charged with one count of assault. Laura Armstrong of The Toronto Star has more:
Osuna, 23, was released Tuesday morning and will appear in court at Old City Hall on June 18, according to Toronto Police Service spokesperson Constable Jenifferjit Sidhu. No details on the age of the victim or whether they knew Osuna were released by police, in order to protect their identity, Sidhu said. Osuna was arrested at the scene and taken to 14 division.
MLB said in a statement it takes “all allegations of this nature very seriously” and is investigating the circumstances. Osuna was placed on administrative leave in accordance with the joint MLB and MLB Players Association’s Domestic Violence Policy.
The Blue Jays organization said it was “aware of the incident involving Roberto” and fully supported the decision by the Commissioner’s Office to place him on leave.
“We are taking the matter extremely seriously, as the type of conduct associated with this incident is not reflective of our values as an organization,” the club said in a statement. “As this remains an ongoing investigation by Toronto Police, the Club will not comment further on the matter.”
That league-wide policy covers cases of domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse, and has been in place since 2015. It’s led to suspensions for Jose Reyes, Jeurys Familia, Aroldis Chapman, and Steven Wright, which have ranged from 15 to 51 games. It also does not require a criminal conviction in order for a suspension. So, depending on what MLB finds here, it’s quite possible that Osuna (who’s posted a 2.93 ERA across 15 and a third innings this year with nine saves) could be out of the Jays’ bullpen for quite a while.
There is no minimum or maximum suspension for violations of the policy, though. It’s at the commissioner’s discretion, although subject to challenge before an arbitation panel. And we’ll likely know what the MLB ruling is relatively soon, as the commissioner can only place a player on paid administrative leave for seven days under this policy.
At any rate, Osuna won’t be honored with a t-shirt Thursday. The team has already switched its promotion to feature infielder Yangervis Solarte instead:
This week’s Thursday Night in the 6ix t-shirt giveaway pres. by @TD_Canada will now feature @Solarte26.
Be sure to arrive early, and get yours at the gates. #BlueJays pic.twitter.com/n3OPwaTtBj
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) May 8, 2018
We’ll see what further details emerge in the Osuna situation, and what, if any, punishment MLB winds up handing down. I’d be willing to bet at www.pokies.com that there will be some punishment.
