Former Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías was suspended through the All-Star break for a second violation of MLB’s policy against domestic violence and sexual assault.
Under the discipline, announced Friday by commissioner Rob Manfred, Urías will be reinstated July 17 and be eligible to sign with any team.
Urías is the first player suspended twice under the policy, which was adopted in 2015. Urías was suspended for 20 games in 2019.
The latest suspension does not cover a particular number of games, as teams do not play a uniform number of games before the break. The Dodgers, for instance, are scheduled to play 95 games before the break.
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However, of the 18 players suspended under the policy, only three have been suspended for more than 95 games.
Pitcher Trevor Bauer, a teammate of Urías with the Dodgers, was suspended 324 games by Manfred. An arbitrator later reduced the suspension to 194 games, still the longest levied under the policy.
Bauer is the only player who has contested such a suspension.
The 28-year-old Urías, a native of Mexico, is a free agent and would be eligible to sign with a team in the Mexican League, even as he remains on the restricted list in MLB.
Players suspended under the policy often issue a statement through the players union. Urias chose not to do so.
MLB said Urías agreed to evaluation by a policy board overseen by the league and the union and to comply with any recommended treatment plan. MLB also said it would “continue to make support services available to Urías and his family.”
Said Manfred in the statement: “The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball has completed its investigation into allegations that free agent pitcher Julio Urías violated Major League Baseball’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy. Having reviewed all of the available evidence, I have concluded that Mr. Urías violated our Policy and that discipline is appropriate.”
Read more: Witness video in former Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías’ domestic battery case released
Urías was arrested outside BMO Stadium on Sept. 3, 2023, following an LAFC game. Eight months later he pleaded no contest to one misdemeanor count of domestic battery. Witness video provided to the California Highway Patrol and obtained by The Times last September shows Urías charging after his wife, pulling her aside and shoving her against a fence. After the two were separated, the video shows Urías swinging at her with his left hand.
The MLB investigation was delayed in part because, while the existence of the video was reported shortly after the incident, league officials had not seen it until The Times published it.
Urías was arrested on suspicion of felony domestic violence, but the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office determined that “neither the victim’s injuries nor the defendant’s criminal history justify a felony filing.” The city attorney’s office subsequently filed five misdemeanor charges against Urías. He pleaded no contest to one, the other four were dropped, and he agreed to enter a yearlong domestic violence treatment program.
He also agreed to complete a similar program in 2019, when he was arrested after an incident in the Beverly Center parking lot. Witnesses said he pushed his fiancee, she said she fell, and no charges were filed.
The league subsequently suspended him. Under its policy the league can suspend a player even if no charges are filed.
At that time Urías issued a statement that read in part: “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.”
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Urías was placed on administrative leave for the final month of the 2023 season, after which his contract with the Dodgers expired and he became a free agent.
He has not pitched since then.
Bauer, a Cy Young Award winner, has been a free agent since January 2023, following the arbitrator’s ruling. No major league team has signed him. He pitched in Japan in 2023 and in Mexico in 2024 and signed to return to Japan this year.
Urías recorded the final out of the Dodgers’ World Series championship in 2020. He led the National League in victories (20) in 2021 and earned-run average (2.16) in 2022.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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