WASHINGTON – If it seemed like things couldn't get much worse for the Braves, with an 0-7 start and injuries to their center fielder and a top relief pitcher out for the season, manager Fredi Gonzalez found out early Wednesday morning that left fielder Hector Olivera had been arrested at the team hotel.
Olivera was charged with misdemeanor assault and battery after an alleged incident that sent a woman to a local hospital with bruises. Major League Baseball immediately placed Olivera on administrative leave for an indefinite period, which the commissioner had the power to do under baseball’s new domestic violence policy.
“I don’t want to comment on it because there’s an ongoing investigation with MLB and the local authorities, and I’m just going to leave it at that, for now,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re 7-0 or 0-7, when something like this happens it’s not good.”
Braves general manager John Coppolella declined to comment, citing the investigation. A prepared statement issued by the team began, “We are extremely disappointed and troubled to learn of the allegations involving Hector Olivera. We will continue to gather information and will address this matter appropriately as we determine the facts.”
Privately, Braves officials fumed. The team is in the middle of a rebuilding project on the field and preparing to move into a new ballpark in 2017, and has been telling fans and players alike for the past 18 months that the franchise was getting back to doing things the “Braves Way.”
Whatever becomes of the case in the judicial system, the allegations and charges that Olivera faces are about as far removed as imaginable from anything the team wants to be associated with.
“I can’t even talk about it,” Gonzalez said. “It’s not good. It’s really disappointing.”
The charge is a misdemeanor, not a felony, so it’s unclear whether the Braves would be able to recover any of the approximate $32 million they owe Olivera through 2020 if they decided at any point to move on from him. Team officials haven’t indicated yet whether they would try to do that or if it’s something they’ve even discussed at this time.
One Braves official, speaking off the record about the charges, said this is not what the organization is about, and that the Braves would “do the right thing” as the case moved forward.
Olivera was acquired from the Dodgers in a blockbuster deal in July 2015 that cost the Braves three pitchers – including left-handed starter Alex Wood – and infield prospect Jose Peraza. He signed a six-year, $62.5 million contract in March 2015 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who owed him about $30 million including his entire $28 million signing bonus.
