MLB investigating after Urías’ arrest on felony charge of corporal injury on a spouse
By BETH HARRIS
AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Major League Baseball has opened an investigation into Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías after he was arrested Sunday on a felony charge of corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant.
Deputy Maria Lucero, a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman, confirmed the felony charge Tuesday. The Department of Public Safety, the arresting agency, has yet to release details of the arrest.
Urías did not travel with the Dodgers to Miami, where they open a three-game series against the Marlins on Tuesday night. He was scheduled to make his next start Thursday.
“For us, now it’s day to day,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before the game. “I don’t want to get too far ahead of things. As time’s gone on with certain things, you learn that simplifying, day to day, is the best way to handle it.”
Urías was arrested late Sunday night by Department of Public Safety officers in Exposition Park, south of downtown Los Angeles. The park is home to BMO Stadium, where Lionel Messi was playing in a Major League Soccer game with numerous celebrities in attendance.
Other than acknowledging “an incident involving Julio Urías,” the Dodgers have declined to comment.
Urías posted $50,000 bail and was released early Monday morning, according to sheriff’s department booking records. He is due in court Sept. 27.
Corporal injury on a spouse requires a bodily injury being willfully caused by physical force.
The 27-year-old Mexican-born pitcher was arrested in May 2019 for domestic battery. Urías was suspended 20 games by MLB, but he wasn’t prosecuted by the Los Angeles city attorney on the condition he complete a 52-week domestic violence counseling program. No player has been suspended twice under MLB’s joint domestic violence policy since it was established in 2015.
“I haven’t addressed the team,” Roberts said. “I think everyone is aware of it. I think everyone feels the same way I do as far as a very unfortunate circumstance. I don’t think anyone knows all that has gone on and went on. I think our guys are just focused on today and let things play out.”
Urías is the second star player on a contending team investigated by MLB in recent weeks after Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco was put on administrative leave while authorities in the Dominican Republic investigated him for an alleged relationship with a minor.
Urías is 11-8 with a 4.60 ERA in 21 starts this season and is set to become a free agent after the World Series. He is pitching on a $14.25 million, one-year contract in his final season of salary arbitration eligibility.
Urías helped the Dodgers win the World Series during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, going 4-0 with a 1.17 ERA in 23 postseason innings. He earned the save in the clinching Game 6 against Tampa Bay.
The left-hander led the majors in wins in 2021, when he was 20-3 with a 2.96 ERA. He finished third in NL Cy Young Award voting last year after going 17-7 with an NL-best 2.16 ERA.
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