Braves' Marcell Ozuna arrested on assault, domestic battery charges

Marcell Ozuna was arrested Saturday in Sandy Springs, Georgia on charges of aggravated assault strangulation and misdemeanor battery – family violence, according to WSBT’s Miles Garrett and ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan (Twitter links).  Ozuna is expected to be investigated by the league under the provisions of the MLB/MLBPA’s joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy.

Under the provisions of the joint policy, the league has the authority to issue discipline regardless of the outcome of the criminal charges leveled against Ozuna, although the outfielder could challenge any discipline to an arbitration panel. Since the policy was instituted in 2015, suspensions have ranged from anywhere from 15 games to a full season, as per the discretion of the Commissioner’s Office.

The Braves released a statement: “We learned of Marcell Ozuna’s arrest earlier this evening and immediately informed the Commissioner’s Office. The Braves fully support Major League Baseball’s policy on domestic violence which stresses to the fullest that our society cannot and will not tolerate domestic violence in any form. Until the investigation is completed, we will have no further comment and all inquiries into the matter should be referred to the Office of the Commissioner.”

Ozuna was placed on the 10-day injured list Friday due to two dislocated fingers on his left hand, and he was expected to miss at least six weeks. Should Ozuna be suspended, he would forfeit any salary owed to him during the missed games. Ozuna re-signed with the Braves on a four-year, $65 million deal this past offseason, and he has roughly $8.12 million remaining on his $12 million salary for the 2021 season.