Braves’ Olivera Suspended Until August
Braves outfielder Hector Olivera, arrested April 13 following an alleged domestic dispute at a hotel in Arlington, Va., has accepted a suspension without pay through Aug. 1, Major League Baseball said Thursday.
The suspension is retroactive to April 30 and covers 82 games, and Olivera agreed not to appeal, MLB said.
Olivera, 31—who got a $62.5 million deal with the Dodgers after defecting from Cuba and was later traded to the Braves—was charged with misdemeanor assault and battery at the time of the incident in April. The Braves were in Washington to play the Nationals. According to The Associated Press, Arlington Police spokeswoman Ashley Savage said police were called just before 7 a.m. that day to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Pentagon City. Savage said a woman with visible bruises reported that Olivera had assaulted her.
The Braves said they supported MLB’s decision and would not comment further. MLB said Olivera can take part in extended spring training for the remainder of his suspension and begin a rehab assignment by July 15.
“Having reviewed all of the available evidence, I have concluded that Mr. Olivera violated the (Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse) policy and should be subject to discipline in the form of an unpaid suspension that will expire on Aug. 1,” commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “Mr. Olivera has also agreed to make a significant charitable contribution to one or more charitable organizations focused on preventing and treating survivors of domestic violence.”
The criminal case is still ongoing.
Manfred earlier this season suspended Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman for 30 games after his alleged involvement in a domestic dispute, although Broward County (Fla.) prosecutors did not charge him. Jose Reyes was suspended through May 31 for his involved in an alleged domestic dispute, although he was ultimately not charged by Hawaii prosecutors.
Yasiel Puig of the Dodgers was not suspended under the new policy following his alleged involvement in a fight in a bar in Miami in November.
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