TORONTO – The lawyer for Roberto Osuna will meet with the Crown in the coming weeks ahead of a July 9 court date in an attempt to resolve a domestic assault charge against the Toronto Blue Jays closer.
Domenic Basile appeared on the 23-year-old’s behalf Monday at the Old City Hall courthouse after receiving what he described as "substantive disclosure" of the evidence against his client earlier in the day.
Speaking to reporters shortly after a brief court appearance, he said Osuna will plead not guilty and that he’ll be "working in a manner that I’m hoping to avoid a conviction."
Doing so is particularly important for Osuna, who regularly crosses the border as the baseball schedule demands and his status could potentially be impacted even if he’s able to get an absolute or conditional discharge as part of an agreement with the Crown.
"That’s one of the factors we’ll definitely be looking into because he is a Major League Baseball player with the Toronto Blue Jays and has to travel," said Basile. "We need to know exactly what his potential immigration consequences are if the matter were to finish a certain way or resolve a certain way. That’s something we will be having legal opinion on and definitely addressing."
The visa issue for Osuna, a native of Mexico, is one of several complicating factors facing the all-star right-hander. The Crown will surely be wary of appearing to give a prominent athlete special treatment, but much hinges on whether the alleged victim is willing to testify against him in court. Major League Baseball, meanwhile, is concurrently running its own investigation and will hand down its own discipline.
Osuna’s paid administrative leave from Major League Baseball was extended through June 25 on Monday, the fifth such extension since he was arrested and charged in the assault of a woman May 8.
Basile anticipated needing a couple of meetings with the crown to determine the next steps in the case, and added that he’d try and resolve the matter by the July 9 court date if he could in the hopes of helping Osuna pitch again this season.
"These matters take time, whether it involves some resolution or some counselling that is required, counselling can’t be done overnight, it takes time to do counselling," said Basile. "Whether it’s a different resolution, I’m going to try my best to get him back from my perspective as soon as possible."
Basile said Osuna has been travelling back and forth between Toronto and Florida, where he’s worked out at the Blue Jays’ training facility in Dunedin. He wouldn’t detail the allegations against his client, but noted that he was charged with a "simple assault," and that minor injuries are often involved when that’s the case.
Under his release terms, Osuna was ordered to not communicate with the woman he allegedly assaulted, to stay 100 metres away from his condo in Toronto, to not buy, possess or consume alcohol and to not possess any weapons.
Basile did say that Osuna is able to see his child, but, "that would have to be arranged through a third party because he’s not permitted to have any direct or indirect contact with the complainant. That’s where he is with respect to the child issue."
The only Blue Jays representative at Monday’s hearing was Mario Coutinho, the club’s vice-president of stadium operations and security.
Major League Baseball can issue discipline before the resolution of criminal proceedings against a player or wait until afterwards under the Joint MLB-MLBPA Domestic Violence Policy, and Basile said "I anticipate they will (wait) in this case."
He said he doesn’t believe Osuna has spoken with the commissioner’s office, although Basile has been a part of "ongoing discussions with Major League Baseball," as well as with lawyers for the players’ association involved with the matter.
A conviction isn’t necessary for baseball officials to deem a violation of its policy has occurred. Jose Reyes (51 games), Aroldis Chapman (30 games), Jeurys Familia (15 games) and Steven Wright (15 games) were all suspended without a conviction.
Basile said Major League Baseball has offered him no indication of potential precedents that could apply to Osuna, although one that may fit is the case of outfielder Hector Olivera, then of the Atlanta Braves, who was arrested on domestic violence charges April 13, 2016, suspended for 82 games on May 26 and found guilty of domestic assault Sept. 8.
Osuna has already missed 36 games on leave, and punishments handed out by baseball to other players violating its domestic violence policy have been issued retroactively to cover time spent on leave.
That can be used creatively, however, as the recent 100-game suspension of San Diego Padres right-hander Jose Torres was issued retroactive to June 5, keeping him out for the remainder of the season and costing him $349,052 of his $550,200 salary. The Padres had placed him on MLB’s restricted list before spring training began.
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