NOVEMBER 26: Arozarena has been released from detention, per a report from Mexican newspaper PorEsto (via John Romano of the Tampa Bay Times). Arozarena and his former partner reached an agreement in which she declined to pursue legal action, reports ESPN’s Victor Alvarez. (The player’s attorney told PorEsto the presiding judge had determined there was not enough evidence for the outfielder to face charges). The MLB/MLBPA domestic violence policy permits the league to levy discipline even in the absence of criminal charges, so the league is expected to continue its investigation.
NOVEMBER 24: Randy Arozarena is under investigation from the league’s department of investigations after the Rays outfielder was detained in Mexico, ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan reports (Twitter links). Two different Mexican media outlets (the Yucatan Ahora and Diaro de Yucatan) have reported on the alleged incident, and John Romano of the Tampa Bay Times has detailed the differences between the two accounts.
Arozarena is alleged to have tried to take his daughter away from the child’s mother after he arrived at the woman’s house, according to the Yucatan Ahora, and was also reportedly involved in a physical altercation with the woman’s father. Abel Guerra, Arozarena’s agent, told Romano that Arozarena was never married to the woman, correcting the Ahora’s description of the woman’s father as Arozarena’s former father-in-law. The Ahora reported that Arozarena was being held on abduction charges while the Diaro de Yucatan said he was being held on charges of violence against a woman. The exact nature of Arozarena’s charges aren’t yet known, as police haven’t yet commented on the situation.
Guerra hadn’t yet been in touch with his client, but told Romano that he had been in contact with other members of Arozarena’s family. “The only thing I know is he was hyper-sensitive about making sure that the child’s needs were being taken care of. He was always sending money down there, and he was very involved in her life,” Guerra said. “I don’t want to speculate about (anything else)….When it comes to family issues there are always layers of complexity. Everything is perspective. Hopefully everything clears itself up. It’s a horrible, unfortunate situation.”
Passan notes that any league discipline in regards to the incident would fall under the MLB/MLBPA joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy. This policy gives the league broad purview to issue suspensions of indeterminate length, depending on each individual situation.
Acquired by the Rays from the Cardinals last winter, Arozarena rose to prominence with a 1.022 OPS over 76 plate appearances in the regular season, and then an even better 1.219 OPS (.358/.429/.790) over 91 PA during Tampa’s postseason run. Arozarena hit 10 homers throughout the playoffs and captured ALCS MVP honors along the way.
