Torre: MLB could have new domestic violence policy by next season

MLB executive vice president Joe Torre said Tuesday that MLB and the MLBPA hope to implement a new domestic violence policy before the start of the 2015 season, according to a report from ESPN's Jayson Stark.

MLB executive vice president Joe Torre said Tuesday that MLB and the MLBPA hope to implement a new domestic violence policy before the start of the 2015 season, according to a report from ESPN's Jayson Stark.

Torre said that the commissioner cannot punish players for "just cause" under the best-interest-of-baseball clause in the current collective bargaining agreement unless it is proven to a neutral arbitrator that the player in question committed a violation, the report says.

The policy Torre proposed would "make it easier for the commissioner to impose an appropriate level of discipline on players who commit acts of domestic violence or sexual assault and have that discipline be upheld in arbitration," according to the report.

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In September, outgoing MLB commissioner Bud Selig said that there had been discussions about a "blanket policy" for domestic violence.

"Yes, it has been discussed, because we're sensitive to all issues. But I'm not going to sit here and (hypothesize)," Selig said, according to the Associated Press. "Fortunately we don't have that issue in front of us. But we deal with all issues."

The MLB's effort to institute a new policy comes after a series of high-profile domestic violence cases in the NFL, including one involving former Ravens running back Ray Rice.