(UPDATE*)

(Note: This article is an editorial and the sole opinion of the author)

When catcher Miguel Olivo became a free agent in 2009, I had hoped that the Dodgers would make a run at him as a possible back-up catcher to then Dodgers everyday catcher Russell Martin. It wasn’t that Olivo was great or anything, it was just that he was better than the revolving door list of back-up catchers that the Dodgers seemed to be going through at the time. What I liked most about Olive was has above average defense and the 15 to 20 home runs he was averaging throughout his (now) 13-year MLB career.

When I learned that Olivo had been signed by the Dodgers during this past off-season, I was mildly surprised – especially after the success that the much younger Tim Federowicz (26) had enjoyed during the 2013 season. But knowing that teams are always in need of an abundance of catchers to accommodate the large number of pitchers in camp, I thought that the signing of the 35-year-old backstop was a good one and relatively safe since it was a minor league deal.

During spring training Olivo was impressive. He appeared in nine games and hit a respectable .263 (5 for 19) with 3 RBI – certainly a lot better than Federowicz’s weak .067 but not as good as Drew Butera’s .286; hence Butera won the back-up catcher job.

At one point early in the season, the Dodgers brought Federowicz up and carried three catchers but unfortunately for FedEx, his spring training woes continued and he was sent back down to Albuquerque after hitting only .109 in the 13 games in which he appeared.

When A.J. Ellis went down with a torn meniscus in his left knee in early April, it was a no-brainer that the Dodgers would bring up Olivo as Butera’s back-up until Ellis returned. In his first few games Olivo looked like the Miguel Olive of old going 5 for 12 (.417) in his first three games. Unfortunately, those would be his only five hits over the month that Olivo would be with the Dodgers. When Ellis returned to the line-up on May 14, Olivo (now hitting .217) was sent back down to Triple-A Albuquerque – a condition of his minor league contract with the Dodgers.

On Tuesday the baseball world was shocked to learn that Olivo had been involved in a fight with 27-year-old Cuban shortstop-turned-second baseman Alex Guerrero – an escalation of a heated disagreement that had occurred earlier during a mound meeting. The fight occurred in the Isotopes dugout and during the altercation, Olivo bit Guerrero on the left ear. The parties were eventually separated but the injury to Guerrero’s ear was so severe that he had to be rushed to the hospital for emergency plastic surgery. It is now being reported that Guerrero could be out as long as five weeks because of the surgery.

Miguel Olive is seen here biting the left ear of Alex Guerrero.
(Photo credit – stingembees.com)

This incident brings to light several issues:

• Guerrero was absolutely tearing it up at Albuquerque and had recently been returned to his natural shortstop position (no doubt a by-product of the success that Dee Gordon is having at second base with the Dodgers). As such, the Isotopes will now be without one of their best players.
• Dodgers Vice President of ‎Player Development De Jon Watson was in attendance at the game and witnessed the initial confrontation between Olivo and Guerrero on the mound and was immediately made aware of the ear-biting incident.
• Guerrero was signed to a four-year/$28 million contract by the Dodgers this past winter.
• The Olivo is signed to a one-year minor league contract believed to be no more than $1 million.
• With the hamstring injury to Juan Uribe on Tuesday night, the Dodgers, in all likelihood, would have brought Guerrero up instead of Erisbel Arruebarrena. One can only imagine how angry Guerrero is over this factor.
• Miguel Olivo is a coward.

While fights occasionally breakout between teammates, resorting to biting is something that one might expect from a second-grader during a playground fight, not from a 35-year-old adult on a professional baseball team. There is simply no justification or excuse for this type of conduct. Although we will probably never know what started the fight (nor do we need to), one has to suspect that it had something to do with the fact that Olivo has been to The Show and Guerrero (and most of the other Isotopes players) have not. In other words, Olivo quite possibly had (or has) a superiority complex over a bunch of minor leaguers. This, of course, is pure speculation on my part and could be completely off base.

On Wednesday afternoon the Dodgers released a statement to the media indicating that Olivo had been placed on the suspended list as a result of the incident pending the results of an internal investigation.

Today, the Albuquerque Isotopes, Triple-A partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, placed catcher Miguel Olivo on the suspended list.  Olivo, who is on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster, will remain suspended pending the completion of an investigation into the dugout altercation during yesterday’s game at Salt Lake.

What many people may not realize is that intentionally removing or attempting to remove a body part or seriously damaging the body part of another is a felony – at least in California it is:

Every person who unlawfully and maliciously deprives a human being of a member of his body, or disables, disfigures, or renders it useless, or cuts or disables the tongue, or puts out an eye, or slits the nose, ear, or lip, is guilty of mayhem. (California Penal Code section 203).

This incident is undoubtedly being investigated by the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction in which it occurred. In California mayhem is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two, four, or eight years. And although I am not familiar with the specific mayhem laws of Utah (the incident occurred in Salt Lake City), I have to believe that they are very similar to those in California and probably carry similar penalties. That being said, a successful prosecution requires the willingness of the victim (Guerrero) to testify against his assaulter (Olivo). One thing to keep in mind, however, is that the biting occurred during a physical altercation which makes it a mutual combat situation. This alone could mitigate the possibility of a successful criminal prosecution.

Regardless of whether or not Guerrero elects to pursue criminal prosecution against Olivo, the Dodgers would be wise to terminate all ties with Olivo and send him packing. There is simply no way that this type of conduct will be tolerated in the Dodgers clubhouse at any level within the organization – not to mention the animosity that will exist between Guerrero and Olive for the rest of their lives.

* UPDATE – May 22, 2014 11:10 AM

Official Dodgers Press Release:

Today, the Los Angeles Dodgers released catcher Miguel Olivo from their roster. The Dodgers now have 39 players on their 40-man roster.