After nearly four months, Major League Baseball on Wednesday announced there will be no disciplinary action against Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig for his involvement in an alleged domestic violence incident with his sister back on November 26, 2015.
MLB released the following statement shortly after noon on Wednesday:
“The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball has concluded its investigation into an alleged incident involving Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig and his sister in a Miami-area nightclub on November 26, 2015. The investigation included interviews of witnesses, including Puig and his sister, as well as a review of video footage from inside the nightclub at the time of the alleged incident.
“The Office of the Commissioner’s investigation did not uncover any witness who supported the assault allegation; both Puig and his sister denied that an assault occurred; and the available video evidence did not support the allegation. Thus, barring the receipt of any new information or evidence, no discipline will be imposed on Puig in connection with the alleged incident.”
Although Wednesday’s official ruling was a long time coming, speculation was that there would be no disciplinary action even before the team arrived for spring training last month.
After the announcement from MLB, Puig’s attorney released the following statement:
“We are pleased that the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball has concluded its investigation with respect to Yasiel.
“Yasiel greatly appreciates the support he has received from the Dodgers, his teammates, and other players throughout baseball.
“Now that the matter has been resolved and is behind him, Yasiel is looking forward to the 2016 season.”
Within minutes of the official announcement, the 25-year-old Cienfuegos, Cuba native slugged his first home run of the spring in Wednesday’s game against the Colorado Rockies at Camelback Ranch. He entered the game hitting only .235 with one extra base hit – a double – before his fourth-inning blast to left field. He finished the day going 1 for 2 to up his average to .263.
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UPDATE – March 16, 2016 at 4:00 pm PT
The Dodgers issued the following statement regard MLB’s decision:
“The Dodgers are pleased with MLB’s findings following their thorough investigation. Yasiel can now put this matter behind him and focus solely on the season ahead.”
any disciplinary action for NOT getting us into the #nlcs last year?
Ridiculous amount of time to investigate an incident in one location, police called it a scuffle, video surveillance, and witnesses.