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Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna charged with assaulting woman; MLB places him on leave

Major League Baseball announced that Osuna has been placed on administrative leave.
Roberto Osuna pitches on May 1. (Photo: Brad Rempel, USA TODAY Sports)

Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna was charged with assaulting a woman early Tuesday morning in Toronto, police confirmed to USA TODAY Sports.

Major League Baseball announced that Osuna has been placed on administrative leave.

“MLB takes all allegations of this nature very seriously" MLB said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports and other outlets. "We are investigating the circumstances and have placed Roberto Osuna on Administrative Leave in accordance with the Joint MLB-MLBPA Domestic Violence Policy.”

Jenifferjit Sidhu, a constable of the Toronto Police Service, said they would not release the location or nature of the incident "not because he's a baseball player" but in order to protect the identity of the alleged victim.

Osuna, 23, is scheduled to appear in court June 18.

“We are aware of the incident involving Roberto and fully support the decision by the Commissioner’s Office to place him on administrative leave," the Blue Jays said in a statement. "We are taking the matter extremely seriously, as the type of conduct associated with this incident is not reflective of our values as an organization. As this remains an ongoing investigation by Toronto Police, the Club will not comment further on the matter.”

MLB instituted a stricter policy on domestic violence in 2015 and can hand down discipline after reviewing the case, even in the absence of a conviction or cooperation from victims. High-profile players including Aroldis Chapman (30 games), Jeurys Familia (15 games) and Jose Reyes (51 games) have been suspended in recent years.

Osuna is in his fourth major league season and has nine saves in 15 appearances this year.

The Blue Jays have an Osuna T-shirt giveaway scheduled for Thursday night's game against the Seattle Mariners.

Contributing: Scott Boeck, A.J. Perez

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