Erisbel Arruebarrena will no longer have to sit out the remainder of the 2015 season, as NBC Sports’ Craig Calcaterra reports that the Dodgers have reduced the infielder’s suspension to just 30 days. Arruebarrena and his lawyer had filed an appeal to the commissioner’s office to shorten the suspension, but ultimately reached a settlement with the club before going through the appeals process.
The Dodgers had suspended the 25-year-old in late May due to repeated failures to comply with his contract, though said transgressions were never reported. Arruebarrena is in the second year of a five-year, $25-million contract he signed with Los Angeles prior to 2014, though the Cuban defector has given the Dodgers the return they were looking for on the investment, hitting .194 in 41 at-bats last season and failing to appear with the club this year. He did, however, hit a far more impressive .333 in minimal action at the AAA level in 2014.
With tensions seemingly still running high between team and player, Arruebarrena seems like a change-of-scenary candidate if the Dodgers can find a club willing to take on what will likely be a reduced version of the three-plus years and $17.5-million remaining on his contract. Otherwise, the two parties will just have to play the waiting game.