Julio Urías, one of the best Mexican-born players in Major League Baseball (MLB), was arrested and charged with felony domestic violence Sunday night.
The left-handed pitcher, who had a MLB-best 19-3 record in 2021, was arrested in Los Angeles near BMO Stadium, where Los Angeles FC was playing a soccer game against Inter Miami and its new superstar, Argentine Lionel Messi. Urías, 27, was among the celebrities who went to see the game, a list that included Britain’s Prince Harry, actors Will Ferrell, Leonardo DiCaprio and Selena Gomez.
But what might have been a nice night out for the native of Culiacán, Sinaloa — he moved to the United States in his youth after being scouted and signed by the Dodgers at age 16 — ended with him being arrested around 11 p.m.
“We are aware of an incident involving Julio Urías,” the Dodgers said in a statement released Monday, with no follow-up as of early Tuesday. “While we try to learn the specific details of the case, the pitcher will not travel with the team. The organization has no further comment at this time.”
The Dodgers played at home on Sunday afternoon, had a day off Monday and were scheduled to play the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night. Urías last started on Friday night at home against the Atlanta Braves.
According to ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan, Urías was released from a Los Angeles prison at around 4:45 a.m. Monday after posting $50,000 bail and has a court date on Sept. 27. An MLB spokesman said the league is aware of the arrest and will conduct its own investigation.
This is the second incident of this type for Urías. In 2019, he was arrested after allegedly shoving a woman to the ground in a Beverly Center parking lot. That time he served a 20-game suspension for violating MLB’s domestic violence policy.
As of Tuesday morning, it was unknown if Urías’ girlfriend, Daisy Pérez, was involved in the latest incident. Pérez, 26, is also from Culiacán and is reportedly a model.
In November 2020, shortly after the Dodgers beat the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series, Urías and Pérez visited the National Palace in Mexico City and met President López Obrador.
Pérez also threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Dodger Stadium this season, before a game at which the Dodgers gave away bobbleheads of Urías, nicknamed “El Culichi” for his hometown of Culiacán.
Urías has an 11-8 record with a 4.60 ERA this season for the Dodgers, who are comfortably in first place in the National League West. He has struck out 117 batters and walked 24 in 117⅓ innings. He is under contract with the Dodgers until the end of this season, having signed a US $14.25 million deal earlier this year.
The Dodgers are no doubt on edge over the Urías charges. From the middle of 2021 to early 2023, the team had to deal with pitcher Trevor Bauer’s unprecedented 324-game suspension over sexual misconduct allegations. Bauer was put on paid administrative leave by the Dodgers in July 2021 and then suspended by the MLB after a San Diego woman said he beat and sexually abused her; Bauer, who was released by the Dodgers and is now pitching in Japan, has been accused of sexual assault by four different women.
With reports from Infobae, Marca, NBCNews.com and El Debate
