Reyes placed on paid leave pending criminal proceedings

Colorado Rockies shortstop Jose Reyes was placed on paid leave Tuesday under Major League Baseball’s new domestic violence policy pending completion of criminal proceedings and will not report to spring training.

The 32-year-old, a four-time All-Star, was arrested in Hawaii at a Maui resort on Oct. 31 following an argument with his wife and pleaded not guilty to a charge of abuse of a family or household member. He was released after posting $1,000 bail and is scheduled for a trial starting April 4, the day the Rockies open the season at Arizona.

Reyes became the first player impacted by the policy, agreed to in August by MLB and the players’ association following a series of high-profile domestic violence cases involving NFL players. New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman and Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig also are under investigation.

MLB said Commissioner Rob Manfred will not decide on possible discipline for Reyes until after the criminal proceedings and an MLB investigation. Discipline is not dependent on a criminal conviction.

Under the policy, a player can be placed on paid leave in “exceptional cases” pending a legal proceeding if the commissioner determines allowing him to play “would result in substantial and irreparable harm to either the club or to Major League Baseball.”

While the policy calls it a paid suspension, MLB in its statement termed it leave. While players do not earn salary during spring training, Reyes will start accruing his $22 million salary on April 3, the day the MLB season opens. If the discipline becomes an unpaid suspension, he has the right to offset the time served against the penalty but must repay any salary he received during the paid suspension.

The players’ union has the right to challenge the decision before an arbitrator.

“We are closely monitoring the proceedings in Hawaii, as well as the commissioner’s actions,” the union said in a statement. “If further discipline is issued or if Mr. Reyes’ paid suspension is not resolved in a timely fashion, the players’ association will work with Mr. Reyes to ensure that all of his rights under the policy are protected.”

Colorado, which starts full-squad workouts Thursday, acquired Reyes in July from Toronto in a deal that sent shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and reliever LaTroy Hawkins to the Blue Jays.

Acquired by the Yankees from Cincinnati in December, Chapman is under investigation for an incident at his house in Florida in October involving his girlfriend. Chapman is alleged to have fired a gun during the incident.

Prosecutors declined to file charges. Chapman has said he would appeal any suspension to baseball’s arbitrator.

Puig got into a fight with a bouncer at a Miami bar in November following an argument with his sister.

Zimmerman denies PEDS

Even after a decade in the majors, Ryan Zimmerman knows that one report saying he took performance-enhancing drugs could tarnish his reputation.

So he’s fighting to clear his name after Al-Jazeera America aired a documentary in late December that implicated the Washington Nationals’ starting first baseman.

In January, he and Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard filed defamation suits against the network, and on Tuesday Zimmerman vigorously defended himself against the claims made in “The Dark Side: Secrets of Sports Doping.”

Zimmerman – who said his emotions have ranged from shock, anger and frustration – believes trainer Jason Riley is how his name got linked to pharmacist Charles Sly, who was featured in the documentary. Sly recanted his statements about Zimmerman, Howard and Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning taking human growth hormone before the documentary aired.

“I’ve never met that guy, I’ve never heard of that guy,” Zimmerman said of Sly. “None of that stuff is true. I’ve never done any of that. I’ve never even thought about doing any of that.”

The organization’s longest tenured player said he was willing to open up his entire life, including phone and email records, to discovery as part of the defamation suit. Even though Zimmerman acknowledged it’s difficult for public figures to successfully sue for defamation, he felt it was his responsibility to go through the process.

“Maybe if this stops this from happening to just one person after me, then it’s worth it,” Zimmerman said.

Zimmerman and Howard filed suits in U.S. District Court in Washington Jan. 5 against Al-Jazeera America. The 31-year-old said his ability to afford to file for defamation and the statement it made about his life and career made doing so an easy decision.

“Opening myself up to everything that filing a suit opens you up to, I don’t really think there’s much of a stronger I guess action for me to take than saying: ‘Here you go. Come look at me legally,’Zimmerman said. “A lot of people have said certain things when they’re accused of these but have never taken these actions, so by taking these actions I’m basically letting them into all aspects of my life. … I’m willing to take to show people that I have nothing to hide.”

Zimmerman is going into his 11th full major league season. He’s a .283 career hitter with 200 home runs and 783 runs batted in.

The documentary added Zimmerman and Howard to the long list of baseball players who allegedly have taken performance-enhancing drugs. Across the state in Clearwater, Howard said the documentary came as a surprise and denied the statements made in it.

Zimmerman said he’s in favor of continued investigations as long as they’re not reckless.

“We need investigations because I’m one of the biggest advocates for getting things out of sports,” Zimmerman said. “I think people need to be a little bit careful before they just start throwing peoples’ names out there.”

Zimmerman wanted so badly to talk to Dusty Baker about the situation that he followed his new manager into his office from the parking lot Tuesday morning. Baker could hear the “hurt” in Zimmerman’s voice about the allegations.

“He explained it to me, which he didn’t really have to,” Baker said. “But he wanted me to know what was going on and how sad and kind of angry but embarrassed (he was) about the whole situation because he’s a guy that really cares about kids and about other people and how they think of him and the influences that he may have on young people. He’ll be exonerated.”

Zimmerman, whose goal for 2016 is to stay healthy after injuries limited him to just 156 games combined over the past two seasons, understands that filing for defamation could make the road to exoneration a long one. It’s his hope that surrendering his privacy for the suit sends a statement about his innocence.

“I don’t really know a stronger way to express myself,” Zimmerman said. “I don’t think there is a stronger way to express myself in this country than that.”

Around the bases

Outfielder Jay Bruce wasn’t surprised the Cincinnati Reds may have come close to trading him as part of a three-team deal that appears to have fallen through. Bruce said he followed reports he was headed to Toronto as part of the Reds’ rebuilding. Outfielder Michael Saunders would have gone to the Los Angeles Angels, with the Reds getting more prospects. Bruce said nobody from the Reds had informed him of a deal in the works. … Los Angeles Angels left-hander C.J. Wilson will be shut down for a few days with tendinitis in his throwing shoulder, a setback in his return from elbow surgery. Wilson experienced pain before a Saturday bullpen session and underwent an MRI on Monday. Manager Mike Scioscia said he’s relieved it wasn’t something worse, and Wilson believes he can still be ready for the start of the regular season. … Los Angeles Angels slugger Albert Pujols is determined to play on opening day and is open to spending more time at designated hitter as he recovers from right foot surgery. Pujols took his physical and says he has been hitting and running the past month. While the team’s medical staff has cautioned the 10-time All-Star may miss the start of the season, Pujols says “my target is opening day.”