Pitcher Urias pleads no contest to battery charge
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Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Staff Writer
Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias pleaded no contest Wednesday to a misdemeanor domestic battery charge tied to his September arrest on suspicion of domestic violence.
Urias was placed on 36 months of summary probation and ordered to complete 30 days of community labor as well as a 52-week domestic violence counseling course, a spokesperson for the L.A. City Attorney’s Office said. In addition, Urias, 27, must pay a domestic violence fund fee, not possess any weapons, not use any force or violence, pay restitution to the victim and abide by a protective order.
The four other misdemeanor charges against Urias — an additional count of domestic battery involving a dating relationship, as well as one count each of spousal battery, false imprisonment and assault — were dismissed.
Urias was originally arrested Sept. 3 on suspicion of felony domestic violence for an incident that occurred in the parking lot of BMO Stadium after an LAFC soccer match, during which an eyewitness saw Urias get into a physical altercation with his wife. Urias was booked on suspicion of corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant and released on $50,000 bail the following morning.
The California Highway Patrol’s major crimes division spent the ensuing three months investigating the incident before handing the case over to the L.A. District Attorney’s Office on Dec. 11. A little less than a month later, the district attorney’s office ruled that it would not file felony charges against Urias.
Prosecutors wrote in a charge evaluation worksheet that Urias pushed his wife against a fence and “pulled her by the hair or shoulders” but added that “neither the victim’s injuries nor the defendant’s criminal history justify a felony filing.”
Three months later, on April 9, the city attorney’s office filed five misdemeanor charges against Urias, four of which carried a maximum penalty of one year in L.A. County jail.
Major League Baseball launched a separate investigation that might be on the verge of completion now that the legal process has played out, though a timeline is unknown.
Urias, once one of the brightest young pitchers in the sport, could become the first player to be suspended twice under MLB’s domestic violence policy, which launched in September 2015. He was originally suspended 20 games by MLB in August 2019 in the wake of an arrest on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic battery, though he was not criminally charged in that incident.
Urias’ attorney could not be reached for comment. An MLB spokesperson declined comment.
Signed out of Mexico shortly after his 16th birthday, Urias navigated through the Dodgers’ farm system as a prized prospect, eventually joining the team as a 19-year-old rookie in 2016. He then returned from major shoulder surgery to become an important contributor on championship-caliber teams, recording the final out of the 2020 World Series, accumulating 20 wins in 2021 and finishing third in National League Cy Young Award voting in 2022.
As a young free agent with relatively few innings under his belt, Urias was widely projected to sign a $200-plus million contract this past offseason before the arrest, but now his MLB future appears to be in jeopardy.
Seattle Mariners outfielder Victor Robles was ejected from a minor league game during a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma on Sunday after he was nearly hit by an inside pitch and tossed his bat at the pitcher.
Las Vegas starter Joey Estes’ first pitch to Robles in the third inning was inside and Robles whacked at it to avoid getting hit.
After taking a few steps behind the plate and dropping his bat, Robles picked up the bat and threw it in Estes’ direction and was immediately ejected from the game by plate umpire Joe McCarthy.
Robles, who was hit by a pitch three times in his previous four games with Tacoma, took some steps toward the mound while yelling at the pitcher but was held back by McCarthy and Las Vegas teammates.
After going into the dugout, Robles threw a box of snacks toward the field before heading to the clubhouse.
He took to social media later to apologize for letting his frustration get the best of him.
“Coming off a long rehab and being away from the game for most of the season has been physically and mentally challenging,” Robles said in his Instagram story. “Adding to that, the recent passing of my mother has been incredibly hard, and I’ve been doing my best to hold it together. That’s not an excuse, but some context I feel you deserve to understand where I’m coming from.”
He added, “Getting hit 5 times in 15 at-bats added to that pressure, and I reacted in a way I’m not proud of. This game means the world to me, and so do the people who play it. I respect every one of you, not just as a player, but as a teammate and competitor.”
Robles is rehabbing a dislocated left shoulder he suffered in April.
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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