Rosie DiManno
In court, Roberto Osuna spoke only two words, directed at the bench: “Thank you.”
Outside the court, the former Toronto marquee closer uttered not a peep. He did not settle. He did not plead. He made no admission of guilt to a charge of domestic assault.
A $500 peace bond. The comeuppance for all that melodrama, the endless vilification, and a club that didn’t have the sand to withstand the media and (preemptively presumed) public pressure
The previous night, appearing at Rogers Centre for the first time in a uniform other than the Toronto Blue Jays threads he’d worn for the entirety of his Major League Baseball career, Osuna had been lustily, even viciously, booed and jeered. Even GM Ross Atkins was taken aback by the full throttle condemnation.
He admitted nothing. The charge was withdrawn in lieu of the peace bond. In the court of public opinion, however, the once beloved pitcher has already been convicted and crucified. And traded.
Osuna was hatched and nurtured as a Blue Jays heirloom, member of the franchise family since his teenage years. When he needed them most, they did not have his back.
On July 31, non-waiver trade deadline, Osuna got his arse kicked all the way to Houston, reigning world champions.
We’re likely never to know exactly what happened on May 8, 2018, between Osuna and his now ex-girlfriend, Alejandra Roman Cota, mother to their 3-year-old son. A source told the Star an incident that allegedly began with pushing and shoving proceeded from Osuna’s apartment at a downtown building to the lobby and that it was the concierge who summoned police.
Roman Cota, court heard, had been visiting Toronto with their child, staying with Osuna. Osuna was charged with a single count of assault.
Osuna had never appeared in court in several earlier remand procedures. He was, however, compelled to be present for the resolution.
Major League Baseball smacked Osuna with a 75-game suspension, third longest ever handed for breach of domestic abuse. Osuna accepted the penalty without a fight through the players’ union, purportedly so that he could resume playing this season. An appeal could have stretched into 2019.
Alleged victim Roman Cota left Toronto almost immediately after the incident, returning to Mexico. She has never come back to Canada.
Police had spoken phone, though.
“Ms. Roman Cota advised us that she wished to resume contact and parenting responsibilities with Mr. Osuna,” the Crown told Ontario Court Judge Melvyn Green. “She hoped this case would be concluded quickly so that could happen.
“She had no fear for her safety. She advised that she would not return to Toronto to testify if a trial date was set. She would not testify at a trial on that charge.”
No co-operative complainant, to her by Former Blue Jays pitcher Roberto Osuna, now a member of the Houston Astros, agreed to a peace bond after a charge of domestic assault was withdrawn this week in Toronto.
no case. Further, Roman Cota’s wishes are of utmost importance. There is a child involved, a fractured family that needs to find a way to coexist peaceably.
“I have reviewed the available admissible evidence in this case and have come to the determination that the Crown does not have a reasonable prospect of conviction on this charge, absent her testimony,” said the Crown prosecutor
The charge was therefore withdrawn. Crown and defence