Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Julio Urias was charged with felony domestic violence on Sunday, Fox News reported. The 27-year-old was arrested four years ago on similar charges and was slapped with a 20-game suspension at the time.
Police arrested Urias Sunday night, but he is free after posting a $50,000 bond. Urias is set to appear in court on Sept. 27, according to his booking records.
The left-handed pitcher was set to start in Miami Thursday but has been suspended while the organization investigates, the Los Angeles Times reported. "We are aware of an incident involving Julio Urías," a statement from the Dodgers said.
"While we attempt to learn all the facts, he will not be traveling with the team. The organization has no further comment at this time," the Dodgers added.
The alleged incident likely occurred at the Los Angeles Football Club game against the Inter Miami soccer team, but no further details have been made public yet. Urias was slated to be at the LAFC game as one of several celebrities invited to attend.
There is precedent for an accused play to face suspension over such accusations. Fellow Dodger Trevor Bauer also received immediate suspension based on allegations of sexual assault.
Another player, Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco, was placed on administrative leave last month while an investigation is underway about alleged relationships with underage girls, according to ESPN. The 22-year-old All-Star had at least two relationships with girls under the age of 18 in his native Dominican Republic.
This latest suspension for Urias is the second such action after he was previously barred from playing following his arrest for misdemeanor domestic battery in 2019. Witnesses to that incident claimed to have seen the Mexican-born pitcher throw a woman to the ground in a parking lot.
He was later cleared of those charges but served out his remaining suspension in accordance with Major League Baseball's domestic violence rules. Urias is the only player to be suspended twice under the league's 2015 rules for players charged with domestic violence.
This season, Urias has struggled to build on his previous successes, the Associated Press reported. In the 2020 season, which was truncated due to the coronavirus shutdowns, Urias shut down the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 6 of the World Series and earned the save.
He finished with a 1.17 ERA in 23 innings and went 4-0 in the postseason. In 2021, he threw to an impressive 2.96 ERA and went 20-3 that year.
Last year, Urias was voted third for the National League Cy Young Award for holding the best ERA for the National League at 2.16 and a 17-7 record. Regardless of his past performances, Urias could see his career derailed completely if found guilty of these crimes.
Urias will get his day in court and is innocent until proven guilty under the law. However, given the nature of the charges, it is wholly appropriate for the MLB to suspend him pending trial.
These young men are plunked from obscurity and given money and power because of their prowess on the baseball diamond without proper concern for how they are as people. With such criteria, it should be no surprise that some of these ballplayers end up being criminals.
