Odubel Herrera Suspended for the Rest of the Season
Jeez, get a load of this:
Odubel Herrera gets 85 game suspension from MLB. It will carry over to next season.
— Jim Salisbury (@JimSalisbury215) July 5, 2019
There are only 75 games remaining this season, but the suspension is retroactive to June 24th, according to Major League Baseball. Herrera won’t get paid during that time.
Odubel was arrested for domestic violence in Atlantic City on Memorial Day, when police say he assaulted his girlfriend. She declined to press charges this week and the case was dismissed on the contingency that Herrera completes 60 days of counseling. Still, Major League Baseball is able to make disciplinary decisions regardless of whether players are convicted in court.
Phils statement on the matter, after the jump:
#Phillies have issued the following statement on the suspension of Odúbel Herrera: pic.twitter.com/tNA3cD8jEn
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 5, 2019
Releasing Herrera is not an easy fix for the Phillies, since he’s already been punished by the league office. Meghan Montemurro explains at The Athletic:
MLB’s policy limits teams’ power in handing out punishment. According to the policy, “If the Commissioner’s Office does not transfer its authority, no Club may take any disciplinary or adverse action against a Player arising from an incident involving a Covered Act.” A transfer of authority, from the league to a team, must occur before the completion of the MLB investigation. This is a rare and unlikely move.
In essence, double jeopardy is in play — a player cannot be given a second punishment by an organization for the same offense…
They can, however, trade Odubel or option him to Triple A.