Blue Jays: Expect Roberto Osuna’s leave to be extended once more

Roberto Osuna was placed on administrative leave after he was arrested last month, which has now been extended until at least June 11th.

One thing the Blue Jays recent losing streak has done is take some attention away from arguably the darkest black cloud around their 2018 season. Back on May 8th, reports surfaced that Roberto Osuna had been arrested the night before and held on charges of domestic assault.

Major League Baseball acted right away putting him on paid administrative leave until the situation was more resolved, initially placing him on the list for just a short time. For a variety of reasons that leave has had to be extended, and the MLB announced on Monday that they would be extending it again, this time to June 11th.

Back when he was arrested nearly a month ago, Osuna’s court date was set for June 18th in Toronto, and that hasn’t changed since that time. I’m not on the inside of the MLB’s investigation into the situation by any means, but I’m surprised they wouldn’t just extend the leave until after the court proceedings take place. Yes, they’re doing their own investigation as well, but getting the information that the court makes public should help them determine the best course of action from here with the Mexican-born pitcher.

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The court proceedings will have a lot to do with baseball’s decision, but it’s also entirely possible it may not have much impact at all. For instance, if Osuna’s legal situation gives him issues with his work visa in Canada or the United States, that will trump anything that the league can do to him. On the other hand, if the case gets thrown out of the courts for any reason, MLB’s officials will likely decide they need to hand down a punishment at the very least, as was the case in Jose Reyes‘ situation a few years ago.

For now I would expect baseball to quietly continue their investigation in preparation for his trial, and for a decision from them to come soon after. While they extended the leave to just June 11th today, my guess is that will be a formality until they extend it at least once more, until after the trial.

For now the Blue Jays’ bullpen will continue to be without it’s most talented piece, and it’s hard to say if or when he could return to the diamond. Right now that’s not the most important thing, even if the team could definitely use his services to help a struggling baseball team.

Whatever the outcome of the legal proceedings, it’ll be important for both the Blue Jays organization and for Major League Baseball to get this one right, and to continue to stand up against domestic abuse. Unless he’s cleared of all charges and proven completely innocent, which seems unlikely based on how this thing is playing out so far, there’s a good chance we won’t see Osuna back on the field again this season.

Next: Devon Travis looks to be regaining his form

I could be wrong, but I wouldn’t bet on this being behind the young closer any time soon.