UNDER THE GUN
LOS ANGELES — Roberto Osuna met his new Houston Astros teammates Sunday and addressed the club for 10 minutes in a closed-door meeting as he comes off a 75-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy.
The defending World Series champions acquired Osuna on Monday in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays while he was still serving his suspension. The all-star closer was arrested and charged with assaulting his girlfriend May 8 in Toronto. No details have been made public and the next court date in the case is scheduled for Sept. 5. Osuna has a daughter 11 months old.
Speaking with reporters in the dugout, Osuna, from Mexico, offered few details about the morning meeting in the Astros’ clubhouse at Dodger Stadium and did not discuss the case pending against him. Osuna was added to the active roster before Sunday’s game against Los Angeles, with Houston pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. going on the 10-day disabled list due to elbow discomfort.
“I was very happy to meet them and very happy to be a part of this team and be a part of this World Series championship team,” Osuna said through a translator. “I will do my best to win another World Series this year.”
Asked if he could shed some light on why he was suspended, Osuna replied: “Not right now.”
Astros manager Andrew (A.J.) Hinch said he wouldn’t hesitate to use Osuna, and would like to get the reliever into a game as soon as possible. The 23-year-old right-hander is the youngest pitcher to reach 100 major league saves.
Hinch said he didn’t have any details about the domestic violence allegation, but takes the situation seriously.
“I think our club is very aware socially,” Hinch said. “I think we are very aware of domestic violence and any negativity that brings. I will tell you universally this club has a hard time with domestic violence. This is bad. I want us to know that this is bad. Domestic violence is bad, allegations are bad and we take them very seriously. But we are not involved in the court case. We are not aware of any of the details and we will have to react and respond and deal with it accordingly as it comes up.”
MLB handed Osuna the second-longest suspension since its domestic violence policy was enacted three years ago. The pitcher did not appeal.
When the Astros acquired Osuna from the Blue Jays before last Tuesday’s trade deadline, the move raised eyebrows in the clubhouse and around baseball after Houston had previously stated its notolerance policy regarding domestic violence.
The team released minor-leaguer Danry Vasquez last spring after surveillance video surfaced showing him assaulting a woman.
McCullers and fellow starting pitcher Justin Verlander were outspoken about their disgust on Twitter at that time.
Osuna is aware of the stir his acquisition has caused in Houston as he joins a team that supplied so much civic pride in the wake of last year’s devastating floods triggered by hurricane Harvey.
“I understand the situation (and) know it’s a sensitive subject,” Osuna said. “I understand the reaction they’re going to have.”
Luhnow also made a point to address female Astros fans who are struggling with the team’s decision to add a player accused of domestic violence.
“I think the conversation is incredibly important and valuable,” Luhnow said. We do need to have it, and it’s a sticky conversation, the topic of any sort of alleged abuse, the topic of domestic violence. There’s also some related topics of condemning someone with no information. I see a lot of that out there. There’s not a lot of people that have real information about what happened or who the person is, and yet they’re pretty quick to judge.”