4:09pm: Goldberg tweets that Olivera has been charged with one count of misdemeanor assault and battery.
11:50am: Goldberg tweets that Olivera will appear before a judge this afternoon between 3:00-4:00pm and is likely to be charged with misdemeanor assault and battery.
11:29am: The Braves have issued the following statement on the situation:
“We are extremely disappointed and troubled to learn of the allegations involving Hector Olivera. We will continue to gather information and will address this matter appropriately as we determine the facts. Major League Baseball has placed Oliver on Administrative Leave effective immediately.”
The Braves have recalled infielder Daniel Castro from Triple-A Gwinnett to fill Olivera’s spot on the roster.
10:18am: MLB has placed Olivera on administrative leave, and the commissioner’s office has begun to investigate his situation, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post tweets.
9:50am: Braves outfielder Hector Olivera has been arrested in connection with a domestic dispute near Washington DC, Jeff Goldberg of ABC7 News writes. The Braves are in Washington playing a series against the Nationals. According to Goldberg, the victim dialed 911 early this morning and said she had been assaulted. She reportedly had bruises and was taken to the hospital. Olivera was arrested but has not yet been charged.
MLB has lately dealt with a number of high-profile domestic violence issues surrounding players like Aroldis Chapman and Jose Reyes. Olivera’s situation could end up adding another name to that list. Chapman received a 30-game suspension from the Commissioner’s Office despite not being arrested or have charges filed against him, so the situation with Olivera has the potential to lead to considerably stronger discipline.
Olivera signed with the Dodgers last year as a high-profile free agent from Cuba, receiving a $62.5MM contract that continues through 2020. The Dodgers sent him to Atlanta in a three-team trade last July. He is currently the Braves’ starting left fielder.
Jeez
So what else can go wrong in this Braves season? Nowhere to go from here but up.
This will be a historic losing season and a lock on the #1 pick in 17′
A lock? Ha! Twins are gunning for you. Bring it on!!
Maybe if we both finish last, next year we’ll face each other in the World Series again…
Haha, will be a fight.
C’mon, man! Seriously? This guy is going to be done before he ever started. I was a defender of this trade, but now even with LAD taking on his near-$30M signing bonus, this can very quickly be another sunken cost when we’ve tried to rid ourselves of them.
On a separate note, this might be just the thing to get Franceour some addt playing time — with Mallex Smith sticking, if he shows some growth.
You think Smith is staying when Inciarte comes back?
You know what I was thinking, with Reyes they questioned how this would affect his visa, but his length of service and financial stability was the hang up. I do not see that being the same case for Olivera, he has not been in the states that long.
And honestly, I think washing our hands of that trade might not be the worst thing. Wood looks destined to be an average bullpen arm and Pereza is still being shipped around and we now have 4 prospects ahead of him.
The deal had so many moving parts its hard to judge really, I would have much rather had Guerrero than Olivera all along but he may have simply refused to give up his opt out clause if traded so can’t really say from that standpoint if the Braves made a mistake or not.. I think with Paco and Bird the deal could still swing back in the Braves favor, I don’t even remember who the Marlins all got in the deal either.
Marlins got minor league arms: Kevin Guzman, Jeff Brigham, Victor Araujo, but mainly the savings of $14.3MM they were on the hook for from Mat Latos/Mike Morse contracts.
Between the $28MM LAD paid of Olivera’s signing bonus and $14.3MM they paid of Latos/Morse deals — they really took on quite a lot financially, though they can afford it.
Olivera isn’t on a visa; Cuban defectors are a different class. He’s basically a citizen.
Oh, I did not realize that. Thanks for setting me straight on that one. Just remember citizenship being brought up in the Reyes case.
Man… If you’re hoping for Franceour to get more playing time, you must really grasping. Let Smith play and get some experience.
Smith is playing, he is in CF for Inciarte.
My bad, I was referring to When Inciarte returns.
Markakis in Left, Smith in Center, Inciarte in Right.
You mean Kelly Johnson will be playing.
I’m hoping this could be some sort of mistaken identity even if it is a long shot. Hopefully Olivera will have some sort of alibi for the time in question.
Hopefully if it is true, Atlanta can void his contract.
Often times these are he-said-she-said things, rather than confusion over participants…
With domestics, he-said-she-said confusion is usually when he and she both say it’s not a big deal… Often enough women get the crap pounded out of them and because they’re so psychologically whipped, they’ll turn around and tell everybody it wasn’t a big deal and run back into the guy’s arms, and go through this every Tuesday and twice on Fridays, for years.
This is getting out of hand.
4 guys out of 30 teams. Not condoning it at all, but it’s not many guys if you look at it total number of players. Each case deserves punishment if guilty.
That’s just reported so far that we know of, 4 guys in less than what 6 months? Beating NFL standards there.
750 players, not including Guys called up b/c of DL. EVERY case is serious and should be taken serious, but let’s not go overboard with hysteria. Btw… Puig’s wasn’t DV, so it’s 3.
Um, what? There are about 140 arrests per 100k people per year. MLB has had 3 out of 750. That is 3 times the expected rate.
The expected rate of arrests for violent crime for MLB players would only match the expected rate for the entire US adult population if both groups had similar demographics. They don’t. MLB is made up entirely of males aged approximately 18 – 40, which is by far the most likely group to be arrested. MLB players should be expected to have more arrests than a random sampling of people.
Seems like it could be a cultural issue?
Meaning what? Cubans? I didn’t realize Johnny Manziel and Ray Rice were Cuban.
has anyone else noticed a similarity between these guys: chapman, puig, olivera…. reyes is the only non-cuban who has been pegged – I am not saying anything about why that is the case but it is kinda odd that 3 out of the first 4 guys hit w/ DA since the rollout of the rules are cubans.
Puig incident wasn’t DV
Puig’s was an argument with a bouncer I believe, it was waaayyyy overblown
Because people of other nationalities/races are convicted of this type of behavior every day. You’re looking at four cases of domestic violence within Major League Baseball in the past year as opposed to the entirety of domestic violence cases around the country. Look back through the past several years… Brett Myers, Chuck Knoblauch and even Bobby Cox have all been linked to domestic violence allegations. This isn’t a new issue, nor is it unique to any singular race, nationality, etc. Human beings, in general, are unfortunately all capable of despicable behavior like this.
Thank you Steve!
Good piece.
Thanks Steve. Ty Cobb once went into the stands to beat up a man who didn’t have hands. Ty Cobb: Not from Cuba. JOhnny Manziel beat up the same girlfrien twice in three months. Johnny Manziel: Not from Cuba. Ray Rice beat his wife unconscious in an elevator. Ray Rice: Not from Cuba. Josh Lueke raped a woman. Josh Lueke: not from Cuba. Elijah Dukes, well, that guy is a horrible human being. Not from Cuba.
that wasn’t necessarily my point – my point was not racially or nationality motivated but I wonder more if cubans are under more scrutiny in the league.
Anyone think it’s a good idea to not commit big money to international players on the wrong side of 30? It’s such a huge stretch for such a guy to be MLB capable but not in the majors at that point that what’s the point of risking it? (And I’m talking serious money, like over 10 or 20 million. Anything less than that and who really cares; you want to drop $8m or even $15m on a 36 year old Japanese pitcher who was comfortable and paid enough to not make it over sooner, fine, no big deal.)
Though I guess in this case the Dodgers saw that he would have good trade value with a paid down contract so it made some sense for them, but you look at the Braves who presumably offer him somewhere close to what the Dodgers gave him, like $40m or $50m, as the irrational team.
Thing is though, Braves are only paying $32MM over next 5 years, IF he stays in there MLB.
Yea the roster.is garbage.but where’s the leadership, where’s the fire and.now we have an idiot costing himself by hitting a woman. They need to fire Fredi Gonzalez because he has lost this clubhouse. They suspend programs and HC in NCAA football for lack of institutional control and this is the same.thing.
Now I’m all for Gonzalez’s dismissal, and I do believe there is a lack of leadership on the team that he must be accountable for, but there’s no way you can pinpoint this to Gonzalez. This happened outside the clubhouse on personal time involving Olivera. A manager should be held accountable to a player’s misconduct – Olivera is a grown man.
I guess Olivera didn’t pass the character with the Dodgers and was thus expendable.
I’ve been a Braves fan my entire life, however, this behavior cannot be condoned. I can’t think of the last time a Braves player found himself in a situation like this. It’s embarrassing and uncalled for. You’d think a guy with a dream, a new life in a better country, and 67 Million Bucks could keep a guy grounded enough to not take these opportunities for granted. At this point, I feel the Braves should cut their losses. I’m sure there’s language in his contract that prohibits this kind of behavior, or any legal issues for that matter. I agree with other fans that Fredi has lost this clubhouse, and his days are numbered.
I can, how about Bobby Cox (21 years next month), on 5/9/1995 arrested for allegedly hitting his wife, Pamela, that he was later acquitted of, then helped manage the team to a World Series ring later that year.
Guess I was a little young to remember it. I would have been 8 years old lol
I will also add that while its not acceptable for anyone to engage in that behavior, it looks a little worse when a guy who’s been here less than a year on a working visa is implicated in something like this. I feel this way not only for baseball players, but anyone who has the privilege to come to this country and earn a living like that. They need to cut their losses. Inexcusable.
IT Doesn’t look ANY worse than Bobby Cox b/c he’s not America. PLEASE save your “Nationalism” speech for the political boards.
Sorry, it looks bad for anyone, but I would think it’s a little worse to see your manager and a former GM of the club involved in that than anything else. But for what it’s worth, all can be forgiven as Cox is still with his wife and was acquitted of the charges, and the Braves won the highest accolade that year – not that is ever justification or retribution for anything (being PC is tough).
You’re entitled to your opinion. I’m not trying to get into a political spat I’m just referencing how it’s amazing that someone can be granted the highest gift on earth in getting to escape oppression in your communist regime of a country, and not only come to the greatest country on earth, but get placed into the top 1% by playing a game you love. NOBODY should take opportunities like this for granted, and while yes what Bobby Cox did was just as wrong as Olivera, their journeys are far different.
Yeah well maybe the time he spent in jail gave him an opportunity to reflect on his poor performance this season
At the risk of incurring the wrath of the Internet, can we just wait a bit before crucifying the guy, saying the sport is in ruins, or wanting to ban Cubans or whatever? Innocent until proven guilty, right?
If the allegations end up having any shred of truth, then yeah, Olivera will now be a very awful person in my eyes and not worthy of an MLB roster spot. But we don’t have any details yet. Relax, Internet. We’ll probably get our chance to rag on the guy, but patience padawan.
Heck no weekapauga09! That would way too sensible for people to do that!
This is very disappointing
I think it’s a great thing for the braves couldn’t stand the guy since we traded for him now mallex can show fredi he’s ready for the bigs and can stay up there for a while
Is MLB going to void Oliveria’s contract and potentially set him up for deportation back to Cuba?
Nope. US policy strictly forbids deportation to Cuba.
I wish, I think he is a citizen of U.S. now. I do not see what teams saw in him in the first place. He is not average on defense, below as a matter of fact. He can not hit. Let this be a lesson to mlb teams just because he can perform in Cuba does not mean diddly here
Looks like the max fine for virginia is 2500 dollars and up to one year in jail for misdemenor assault and battery. Olivera still has to be found guilty though, but even then he is heading towards a suspension.
Is it that these incidents are occurring more, or is it that social media is putting them at the forefront more? Would be interesting to see statistics of athletes & DV 10 years ago vs today etc..