Police: Braves' Hector Olivera arrested, accused of assault
ARLINGTON, Va. --Atlanta Braves outfielder Hector Olivera was placed on paid administrative leave by Major League Baseball after he was arrested when a woman accused him of assault at a hotel outside Washington.
The Braves said in a statement Wednesday the team is "extremely disappointed and troubled."
Officers were called earlier Wednesday to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Pentagon City, where a woman with visible bruises reported that Olivera had assaulted her, Arlington Police spokeswoman Ashley Savage said.
Savage said Olivera was waiting to appear before a magistrate and had not been formally charged. Savage also said Olivera and the woman are acquainted.
Atlanta is in Washington for a series against the Nationals.
The 31-year-old Olivera defected from Cuba and agreed to a $62.5 million, six-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers last May and was traded to Atlanta on July 30.
Olivera will continue to receive his $4 million salary while on leave. He may ask baseball's independent arbitrator, Fredric Horowitz, to reinstate him to the active roster pending MLB's investigation. If a request is made, a live or telephone hearing is to be held within 24 hours of the request.
Atlanta placed Olivera on the restricted list. To fill his roster spot, the Braves recalled infielder Daniel Castro from Triple-A Gwinnett.
Olivera is the fourth player whose conduct came under baseball's new domestic abuse policy, a deal the players' association agreed to last summer.
Yankees pitcher Aroldis Chapman is serving a 30-day suspension after an incident with his girlfriend last October, and Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig was not disciplined for events at a Miami bar.
Colorado shortstop Jose Reyes is on paid administrative leave pending a decision on whether MLB will discipline him for an incident with his wife at a Maui hotel in Hawaii on Oct. 31. Reyes was arrested, and a domestic abuse charge was dismissed this week after prosecutors said Reyes' wife did not cooperate. Prosecutors have two years to refile.