A star pitcher for the Blue Jays was arrested by Toronto police on Tuesday on charges of assaulting a woman.
Roberto Osuna, the team’s closer, was charged with one count of assault on a woman, the Toronto Police Service announced.
News of Osuna’s arrest was reported by The Athletic.
Osuna, 23, was released from police custody. He is due back in Old City Hall Court on June 18.
TPS is not revealing the circumstances of the alleged incident for fear that it would reveal the identity of the victim.
A star pitcher for the Blue Jays was arrested by Toronto police on Tuesday on charges of assaulting a woman. Roberto Osuna, the team’s closer, was charged with one count of assault on a woman, the Toronto Police Service announced
Constable Jenifferjit Sidhu said investigators are withholding information to protect the woman’s identity and ‘not because he’s a baseball player.’
After news of Osuna’s arrest became public, Major League Baseball announced that the Mexican-born pitcher would be placed on administrative leave.
‘MLB takes all allegations of this nature very seriously,’ the league said in a statement.
‘We are investigating the circumstances and have placed Roberto Osuna on administrative leave in accordance with the joint MLB-MLBPA Domestic Violence Policy.’
MLB rules permit the commissioner, Rob Manfred, to place a player accused of domestic violence on paid leave for up to seven days while allegations are investigated.
The Blue Jays general manager, Ross Atkins, told reporters at the Rogers Centre in Toronto that the seven-day period could either be shortened or extended.
‘It will really depend upon the investigation is what I can tell you at this point,’ Atkins said.
‘We’ve been taking it minute-by-minute, as we get more information and hour-by-hour.
‘We’re working with the Toronto Police Service to help that way, any way that we can, and certainly with Major League Baseball.’
After news of Osuna’s arrest became public, Major League Baseball announced that the Mexican-born pitcher would be placed on administrative leave. Osuna is seen above pitching in a game against the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas on April 6, 2018
MLB will conduct its own investigation into the matter, after which the commissioner can mete out a punishment of his choosing regardless of how the case progresses through the court system.
The Blue Jays released a statement of their own on Tuesday.
‘We are aware of the incident involving Roberto and fully support the decision by the Commissioner’s Office to place him on administrative leave,’ the team said.
‘We are taking the matter extremely seriously, as the type of conduct associated with this incident is not reflective of our values as an organization.
‘As this remains an ongoing investigation by Toronto Police, the Club will not comment further on the matter.’
Osuna is considered an elite reliever. In 2017, he amassed 39 saves – tied for fourth most in the major leagues.
He is just 23 years old.
Osuna is playing this season on a one-year contract with a base salary of $5.3million guaranteed, according to Spotrac.
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