Martin Maldonado receives suspension for part in Brewers/Pirates brawl
By Aaron Somers
Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Sunday’s benches clearing brawl between the Milwaukee Brewers and Pittsburgh Pirates was bound to have some added fallout for both teams once Major League Baseball had a chance to thoroughly review tape from the event. Suspensions and fines appeared all but inevitable after watching footage from the incident (video can be found here).
ESPN’s Buster Olney reports that Martin Maldonado appears to be the first domino to fall. Milwaukee’s backup catcher has received a five game suspension for his role in the brawl and has been fined $2,500. Maldonado came off the bench during the fracas and can be seen on video throwing a punch, one that left Pirates outfielder Travis Snider bloodied with a black eye.
No other suspensions have been announced as of yet, but more are likely forthcoming from the league. Snider, Pirates bench coach Jerry Narron, and Brewers outfielder Carlos Gomez were all ejected from the game at the time.
Maldonado has appeared in just four games for the Brewers on the season, but has swung the bat well in those limited appearances. He’s hit a meager .224/.284/.353 in 458 PA over the past two seasons in Milwaukee. Maldonado will not be replaced on the active roster during his suspension, however, so the Brewers could be without a safety net behind starter Jonathan Lucroy barring another roster move of some kind.