LA Dodgers Pitcher Julio Urias Suspended After Allegations of Domestic Violence

The LA Dodgers had a bad day in the office when they fell to the Atlanta Braves 4-3 on Saturday. However, that was just the tip of the iceberg as more bad news surfaced regarding one of their talented left-handers, Julio Urias.

Major League Baseball slapped a 20-game suspension on Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias. As it turned out, Urias was arrested in May on suspicion of domestic battery. The suspension was in effect from Saturday onwards, so five games were already up.

“Since May, I have been fully cooperating with both law enforcement and MLB,” Urias said in a statement. “Although the authorities determined no charges of any kind were warranted, I accept full responsibility for what I believe was my inappropriate conduct during the incident.”

“Even in this instance where there was no injury or history of violence, I understand and agree that Major League players should be held to a higher standard. I hold myself to a higher standard as well.”

Dodgers team president Stan Kasten decreed that Urias will report for training and return to the team after his suspension. The President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman even sent the left-hander on a rehab assignment.

“This is a program that is collaborative between the union and baseball,” Kasten said. “I’m very comfortable accepting their judgment about what should happen.”

On Saturday, Casey Sadler was recalled from triple-A Oklahoma City to take Urias’ roster spot.

The Braves scored first on the back of Ozzie Albies’ two-run double in the third inning. Two more were added to the board, courtesy Josh Donaldson and Adam Duvall’s back-to-back home runs.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers got 2-1/3 scoreless innings from Joe Kelly, Adam Kolarek and Pedro Baez in the absence of Urias. The Mexican appeared in 18 games, of which, he took on the role of a reliever in 16 of them. Now, it looks like, he will not be making many appearances for the rest of the season when he returns.

However, his performance has taken a backseat to his arrest at the Beverly Center on May 13. According to eyewitnesses, he shoved the woman he was with, though she alleged that she fell in the parking lot while they argued. Urias was then placed on paid administrative leave by the MLB.

In June, city prosecutors announced they would not file charges against Urias and no action would be taken in connection with the report, as long as he is not arrested again for violent criminal behavior in the next year and he participated in a 52-week domestic violence counseling program in person.

“He understands the gravity of things like this,” Kasten said. “He’s going to work hard to move forward, learn from this, improve. We hope so and if that is how he feels, we will be here to help him as anyone, I would think, would expect us to.”