Marcell Ozuna Eligible to Return Immediately After Domestic Violence Allegations

Ozuna will be eligible to play at the beginning of the 2022 season after being arrested in May over an alleged domestic dispute with his wife.

MLB has announced that Braves outfielder Marcell Ozuna has received an unpaid, retroactive 20-game suspension for violating the league's joint domestic violence policy. Ozuna was placed on administrative leave between Sept. 10 and the end of the season, so he has already served the suspension. He is eligible to return at the start of the 2022 season.

"My office has completed its investigation into the allegations that Marcell Ozuna violated Major League Baseball's Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy," MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a release. "Having reviewed the totality of the available evidence, I have concluded that Mr. Ozuna violated our policy and that discipline is appropriate." 

MLB announces discipline for Marcell Ozuna: pic.twitter.com/ynMh3ZVape

— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) November 29, 2021

Ozuna was arrested in May while in Fulton County, Georgia, for domestic battery and aggravated assault charges of his wife just days after he dislocated the ring and middle fingers on his left hand. His injuries required a cast and had sent him to the injured list. Police responded to a call about an assault in progress and police found him "grabbing the victim by the neck and throwing her against a wall." However, prosecutors reduced his charges to a pair of misdemeanors in July after reviewing bodycam footage of the incident.

In 2020, Ozuna's wife, Genesis, was arrested for domestic battery after she threw a soap dish at him that resulted in a facial laceration.