MLB reportedly wanted longer suspension for Jose Reyes
Colorado Rockies shortstop Jose Reyes received a 51-game suspension for allegedly assaulting his wife but the suspension could have been greater.
Jose Reyes has effectively ruined his reputation after his arrest last year for allegedly assaulting his wife in Hawaii.
He recently received a 51-game suspension by MLB, with this being the second time a player has been suspended under the league’s new domestic violence policy, with the first being Aroldis Chapman.
The length of the suspension seemed rather short, but an article by John Perrotto of Today’s Knuckleball sheds some light on why it was not longer.
"Furthermore, because the case did not go to trial, officials in Hawaii were not liberal in sharing the results of their investigation with MLB. “Rob only had some much to go on from a legal standpoint,” the source said. “Rest assured, if there was more concrete evidence, the suspension would have been longer.” The source would not speculate how long but the persistent word around baseball was that Manfred wanted to hand down an 80-game ban."
An 80-game ban would have surely sent a statement about how serious MLB is about the new policy, but the crime itself is enough for teams to stay away from Reyes.
The case against Reyes was dropped because his wife did not testify, but this is not new to domestic violence cases. There is often some forgiveness given by the one assaulted, whether it is deserved or not.
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Reyes and his wife want to move on, but assaulting a woman is one of the worst crimes out there in terms of morality and public opinion. He will not be forgiven by fans any time soon for what he did, and signing him could be terrible for any team’s reputation.
Look to the NFL for how the Dallas Cowboys were looked down upon for signing Greg Hardy, who continued to prove he was not only a terrible human being, but a terrible teammate as the season progressed.
There is also Ray Rice, who still finds himself without a team after video surfaced of him knocking out his wife.
This is not to say that anyone who commits an act of domestic violence should be blacklisted for life and never forgiven, except maybe for Greg Hardy, but it is hard to expect a professional sports franchise to endorse anyone accused of such a crime.
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Reyes is still under contract with the Rockies through next season, but Trevor Story‘s breakout season means Reyes will not be replacing him once his suspension ends. He could be traded, but it is unlikely a team would bring him in this season.