MLB places Dodgers P Julio Urías on administrative leave after felony domestic violence arrest
MLB announced it placed Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías on administrative leave Wednesday, two days after the left-hander was arrested on felony domestic violence charges.
The move is effective immediately as the league continues its investigation into Urías, who will be paid while sidelined. Dodgers rookie Ryan Pepiot will be promoted in a corresponding move to take the empty spot in the rotation.
The Dodgers released a statement confirming that the team is cooperating with MLB's investigation.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 6, 2023
The team also announced it is canceling a Urías bobblehead night previously scheduled for Sept. 21. The first 30,000 fans that night will instead receive "a giveaway of select premium bobbleheads."
Administrative leave is often MLB's first step in domestic violence investigations, with the games missed usually counted as time served (with the salary returned) in an eventual settlement over the player's discipline.
Urías was arrested and released on $50,000 bond early Monday. Confirmed details on the arrest are sparse beyond that he was reportedly at the LAFC-Inter Miami game on Sunday. The alleged incident is the second round of domestic violence allegations that Urías has faced, after he was arrested in May 2019 after witnesses told police that they saw him push a woman to the ground in a parking lot.
Julio Urías avoided criminal charges but not an MLB suspension after arrest in 2019
That 2019 arrest did not lead to charges being pressed against Urías. The woman in question told police that she fell, though security footage reportedly backed up the witnesses' account. The L.A. city attorney deferred charges as long as Urías attended a 52-week domestic violence counseling program and wasn't arrested for a violent crime in the next year.
While Urías avoided criminal charges, MLB still suspended him 20 games for violating its domestic violence policy. No player has ever been suspended twice under that policy, so Urías could be in position to become the first.
The arrest came at an especially bad time for the 27-year-old Urías, who is a free agent after this season. His walk year was already something of a disaster, with the southpaw holding a 4.60 ERA (his worst since 2017) in 117 1/3 innings and missing a month and a half due to a hamstring injury.
Urías has been on track for a nine-figure contract after winning the World Series in 2020 and leading the NL with a 2.16 ERA last season, but his career is now in limbo as MLB and the authorities investigate the allegations against him.
