MLB says Osuna can return to Jays with domestic violence charge pending

Baseball does not have a problem with Toronto Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna returning from a domestic violence suspension while a legal charge could remain pending.

Osuna agreed to a suspension through Aug. 4 under baseball's domestic violence policy. He has not pitched since May 6, two days before he was put on administrative leave when he was charged with one count of assault in Toronto.

"If in fact the application of that policy results in Roberto coming back to work after a very long suspension while there are still unresolved criminal proceedings, I can live with that result, because that's the policy we negotiated," baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said at the all-star game on Tuesday. "You can't take all the benefits of the policy and then turn around and say, gee, I don't like the outcome in this case and therefore I'm going to do something else."

Osuna will wind up missing 89 days, which will cost him about $2.54 million US of his $5.3 million salary. He will participate in a confidential and comprehensive evaluation and treatment program supervised by the joint policy board of MLB and the players' association.

"I believe that the process moved forward in the fashion that it should have," union head Tony Clark said.

Osuna made his second minor league appearance Tuesday, striking out one in a scoreless inning for Class A Dunedin against Florida in the Florida State League. He allowed one hit over an inning Friday for the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays against the GCL Yankees East.

A 23-year-old right-hander, Osuna is 0-0 with nine saves in 10 chances and a 2.93 ERA in 15 games this season. He was an All-Star last year, when he went 3-4 with 39 saves and a 3.38 ERA.