After months of review and awaiting a court decision, Major League Baseball announced it will suspend Colorado Rockies shortstop Jose Reyes until May 31 after he was initially arrested on a domestic-violence charge on Oct. 31, 2015. Reyes' suspension is backdated to Feb. 23, and is the second of its kind under the league's new policy. He can begin a minor league rehab assignment as soon as June 1.
MLB suspends Rockies’ Jose Reyes until May 31 for domestic-violence incident
Reyes can begin a minor league assignment on June 1. He will not contest the suspension.
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Reyes will not contest what amounts to a 51-game suspension. He has not played in a single game since being placed on paid administrative leave for the year by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred while he investigated further. The 32-year-old was arrested and charged for domestic violence in Hawaii, at the Four Seasons Resort in Maui he and his wife Katherine were staying at, at the time.
The police report filed stated that Katherine suffered injuries to her neck, wrist and thigh after grabbing her off the bed and shoving her against a glass sliding door, according to Chelsea Davis of Hawaii News Now. The case was set to go to court, but on March 20, 2016, all charges were dropped by the prosecution after Reyes’ wife refused to testify.
Despite the dropped charges, Manfred moved forward under his jurisdiction to hand down a punishment. Reyes has missed 34 games of the Rockies’ season, and with this suspension will miss an additional 17 games -- all without pay.
Reyes issued an statement saying, “I want to apologize for everything that has happened. I am sorry to the Rockies organization, my teammates, all the fans and most of all my family. I am happy to put this all in the past and get back to doing what I love the most, playing baseball. My wife Katherine has remained by my side throughout everything and for that I will be forever grateful.”
Reyes was set to earn $22 million this season, but he’ll lose about a third of that. Not only will he have to pay back what he earned while on paid administrative leave, he’ll also be without pay going forward for the remainder of his suspension.
Reyes is currently under contract with the Rockies through the 2017 season, during which he'll also earn $22 million. The team has a $22 million option for 2018 with a $4 million buyout. Reyes came to the Rockies in 2015 via trade when Colorado made a deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. The move sent franchise shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and veteran reliever LaTroy Hawkins to Toronto, while the Rockies received Reyes and three prospects in return.
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