Months away from becoming a free agent for the first time in his career, Julio Urías was arrested and placed on administrative leave amid an arrest on suspicion of domestic violence.
Urías never returned to the Los Angeles Dodgers roster for the final month of the regular season and he remains a free agent.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced in January they were not going to file felony charges. However, the case was turned over to the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office.
They have now filed five charges against Urías, who has an arraignment hearing scheduled for May 2, per Jack Harris and Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times
Former Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías has been charged with five misdemeanors stemming from his arrest for suspicion of domestic violence last September, a spokesperson from the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office confirmed Tuesday.
The charges include one count of spousal battery, two counts of domestic battery involving dating relationship, one count of false imprisonment and one count of assault. An arraignment is scheduled for May 2.
Urías was arrested last September after getting physical with his wife outside of BMO Stadium following a soccer match between Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) and Inter Miami. Reports of the incident stated Urías pushed his wife up against a fence and grabbed her by the hair or shoulders.
The Dodgers quickly began to distance themselves from Urías by giving his locker in the Dodger Stadium clubhouse to Kolten Wong when he joined the team. The locker now belongs to Shohei Ohtani.
The Dodgers also replaced the Julio Urías World Baseball Classic bobblehead giveaway on their promotional calendar, and removed jerseys, t-shirts and other merchandise bearing his name and No. 7 out of retail stores and stands.
Then the Dodgers covered all Dodger Stadium murals featuring Urías, including the 2020 World Series painting in right field of the loge level that features Mookie Betts, Clayton Kershaw and Justin Turner. The mural was updated by artist Jonas Never with Austin Barnes and Will Smith replacing Urías.
Julio Urías arrest history
Urías was previously arrested in May 2019 for alleged domestic violence, but charges were never filed. L.A. prosecutors agreed to not press charges against Urías at the time under the conditions he participated in a City Attorney hearing, commit no acts of violence against anyone, and successfully participate in and complete a 52-week domestic violence counseling program in person, and in a group setting.
Urías is the first player who faces disciplinary action for a second time under MLB’s domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy that was implemented in August 2015.
MLB’s investigation into Urías over his second incident remains ongoing.
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