New York Yankees reliever Jimmy Cordero was banned for the remainder of the 2023 season for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy.
The league’s policy, negotiated with the MLB Players Association, does not mandate suspensions of a specified length. Cordero’s 76-game ban, which he agreed to, is among the longest the league has handed down, behind Los Angeles Dodgers Trevor Bauer (324 games, reduced on appeal to 194), Sam Dyson (162), Jose Torres (100), Hector Olivera (82) and his Yankees teammate Domingo German (81).
When suspending players under the policy, MLB does not make public what it investigated or what evidence was found during the process.
In a statement, the organization said: “The Yankees are fully supportive of Major League Baseball’s investigative process and the disciplinary action applied to Jimmy Cordero. There is no justification for domestic violence, and we stand with the objectives, standards and enforcement of MLB’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy.”
Cordero, 31 years-of-age, had emerged as a vital cog of the Yankees’ bullpen after not taking the mound in the majors since 2020. New York’s relief corps has allowed the team to remain within striking distance in the AL East Division, trying to catch up to the Tampa Bay Rays, in the middle of an offensive slump since Aaron Judge landed on the injured list June 7 with a torn ligament in his right big toe.
Yankees relievers have a 2.82 ERA, the best in the major leagues, and have allowed the fewest home runs while generating the highest ground-ball rate.
With a fastball that sits above 97 mph and a slider to go along with it, Cordero, who spent past seasons with the Washington Nationals, Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago White Sox, surfaced as a viable long reliever for manager Aaron Boone, not surrendering a run in 23 of his 31 appearances. Cordero signed with the team in 2022 and spent that season in the minor leagues before posting a 3.86 ERA in 32⅔ innings this season.
