Commissioner Rob Manfred said Monday that he expects to announce his ruling this week on the first cases involving MLB's new domestic violence policy, and that might save at least one team from a situation it "doesn't relish."
Three players — Rockies shortstop Jose Reyes, Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman and Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig — have been the subjects of MLB investigations, and, according to MLB Network, the Rockies front office would prefer not to have Reyes in camp while his case is pending.
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Hear rockies top brass doesn't relish having Reyes at camp right now. Reyes/rox may agree for him to stay away, for now.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 22, 2016
Reyes' case is different from the other two in that he was arrested and charged in October after he allegedly assaulted his wife on Halloween in a Hawaii hotel and a court case is pending. No charges were filed against Chapman or Puig, though their incidents this offseason triggered MLB investigations.
MLB and the players’ association announced in August that the commissioner’s office would be empowered to discipline players for matters of domestic assault, regardless of whether they were charged with crimes.
“I am giving really thorough consideration to the cases that I have in front of me and thinking their relevance obviously to the individual players, the individual facts most important, but also with an eye toward starting something new,” Manfred said (via the Kansas City Star). “It’s important to try to get these as right as possible.”
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Other topics Manfred hit on while visiting Cactus League media day Monday in Phoenix:
▪ There is no timeline for expansion, but Manfred said he expects there eventually will be 16 teams in each league.
▪ He said the Rays likely will play an exhibition game in Cuba this March, which, if it happens, would be the first appearance by a major-league team on the island since the Orioles played the Cuban national team there in 1999.
• Manfred said he is interested in MLB playing a regular-season game in London.
