The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office will not file felony charges against former Los Angeles Dodgers and current free-agent pitcher Julio Urías, according to ESPN’s Alden González. The case will now be moved to the City Attorney’s Office for possible misdemeanor charges.
Urías, 27, was placed on administrative leave by Major League Baseball in September following his arrest on felony domestic violence charges. An ESPN report at the time noted that Urías allegedly had a physical altercation with a woman outside of BMO Stadium in Los Angeles following a soccer match between Inter Miami and LAFC. Law enforcement, the report claimed, was in possession of cellphone video capturing the altercation.
Our Dayn Perry explained how administrative leave works:
In plain terms, administrative leave in essence sidelines a player accused of violating the joint policy on domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse while MLB investigates those allegations. Of note is that these investigations are conducted outside of any legal proceedings, and MLB and commissioner Rob Manfred have the latitude to discipline players under the policy even in the absence of any criminal charges or conviction.
Urías did not appear again for the Dodgers after his Sept. 1 start, missing the team’s final 27 regular season contests and postseason series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. MLB’s joint policy with the MLB Players’ Association gives the commissioner the ability to punish a player for domestic violence allegations even if no charges are filed or legal consequences issued.
Urías was previously suspended for 20 games under the same policy in 2019 after he allegedly shoved his girlfriend to the ground in a Los Angeles shopping mall’s parking lot.
Urías is a free agent after clearing six years of service time.
