Osuna’s baggage a topic of conversation
Hinch, Luhnow, Crane meet on eve of reliever’s arrival
LOS ANGELES — Twenty minutes after he was previously scheduled to arrive, A.J. Hinch strode into the visitor’s dugout at Dodger Stadium and sat atop a bench. A horde of reporters swarmed.
“We just wrapped up a private meeting with our owner and our GM,” the manager acknowledged, vaguely beginning a sixminute interview which centered on one subject.
“It was about the obvious,” Hinch said flatly.
Conducting a non-tactical team meeting in the middle of a series is uncommon, reserved for uneasy situations. The Astros will confront one Sunday, when Roberto Osuna’s 75-game suspension expires and he joins a cohesive clubhouse bracing for the frenzy — and possible fragmentation — that could follow.
“We have a lot to talk about tomorrow, obviously that’s the day Osuna gets here,” Hinch said Saturday, declining to elaborate on the tone or contents of the meeting. “We, as a team, will address it tomorrow. But we wanted to get Jeff and Jim in the room with our players and begin a series of meetings we’re going to need to absorb all of this.”
Osuna is charged with one count of assaulting a woman in Canada. He accepted the 75game suspension Major League Baseball levied on June 22 for violating the league’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy.
During the six days since acquiring Osuna from the Toronto Blue Jays, the Astros have held two meetings.
One occurred Monday in Seattle, mere hours after the deal was consummated. Saturday’s was the first to include any front office members.
“We’re doing well. We’re doing quite well,” Hinch said. “We have a really good team, we have really good character on this team, we have a good vibe. We’re one of the most enjoyable teams that you can imagine. Our clubhouse is one of the favorites to come to work to every day. Our guys love each other, they do a great job of blending with each other on a daily basis.”
Owner Jim Crane was unavailable for comment on Saturday. General manager Jeff Luhnow will address reporters on Sunday morning in Los Angeles alongside Osuna.
“I think there’s always going to be extra attention,” Hinch said. “I don’t think it could go any other way, to be honest. It’s very difficult on a personal level, it’s very difficult on a private level and on a baseball level. This is something that we fully understand. We are gathering information on a day-to-day basis. It’s going to be with us.”
Osuna is next scheduled to appear in Canadian court on Sept. 5, after his lawyer, Domenic Basile, received a postponement during a Wednesday appearance. Basile said earlier this week he hopes to “resolve this case on Sept. 5 or shortly thereafter in my client’s favor.”
While the charge lingers, Osuna retains his baseball eligibility on Sunday, when he’ll officially become a member of the World Series champions and a clubhouse Hinch called “the closest-knit group that I’ve ever been around in my career — as a player, as an executive, as a coach.”
“That won’t change,” Hinch said. “I think we are going to handle it as a group as best we can. We simply don’t know, and we’re going to refuse to draw any conclusions at this point.”
Before Sunday’s game, Osuna is scheduled to address his new teammates. Both Hinch and starting pitcher Justin Verlander intimated the specifics of Osuna’s introduction will not be shared publicly.
Prior to Friday and Saturday’s games, most Astros declined politely to speak about Osuna or the unknowns surrounding his arrival.
“I’m just going to listen (to Osuna),” Verlander said Monday in Seattle.
“I don’t know, we don’t know the details of much. I haven’t really paid attention to it for obvious reasons because it wasn’t in my life. Now it is. Obviously, I’m going to be paying more attention.”
Those that did speak on the topic, whether here in Los Angeles or in Seattle earlier this week, reiterated that consistent point. Details of the allegations against Osuna are scarce.
Few players know the 23-yearold personally. Sunday morning’s speech, another team meeting in a whirlwind week full of them, is the first impression Osuna can impart.
“I don’t know him. I’ve never met him, never shook his hand,” Hinch said. “I know where he grew up, I know a little bit of his track record. We’ll talk a little bit of baseball but we’ll get into anything he wants to get into. I’m his manager now, so I think it’s important for me to get to know him, make him be the player that he can be and adjust along the way.”
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