Yankees pitcher Jimmy Cordero was suspended for the rest of the season by baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred on Wednesday for violating the sport’s domestic violence policy.
MLB said the 31-year-old right-hander accepted the suspension and will miss the season’s final 76 games and the postseason.
Cordero was 3-2 with a 3.86 ERA in one start and 30 relief appearances and has a $720,000 salary, the major league minimum.
A career journeyman, Cordero has been in the systems of a number of teams including the Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Nationals, Seattle Mariners, and Chicago White Sox.
He missed the 2021 season after Tommy John surgery while with the White Sox organization and spent 2022 with the Yankees’ Triple-A team at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Cordero has a career MLB ERA of 4.36.
The Yankees said in a statement they supported MLB’s discipline and ‘there is no justification for domestic violence.’
Cordero is the first Yankee to be suspended under the domestic violence policy since fellow New York pitcher Domingo German was given an 81-game suspension that he served in 2019 and 2020.
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In September 2019, the right-hander and his then-girlfriend, now-wife Mara Vega attended a charity gala held by then-Yankee CC Sabathia with several other teammates and their wives and families in attendance.
The pitcher allegedly slapped Vega at the event but it was what happened later that sparked an MLB investigation, according to The Athletic.
An intoxicated German allegedly became violent with Vega when they returned home to the extent that she had to seek refuge by locking herself in a room.
From her hiding spot she was reportedly able to contact the wife of another Yankees player, prompting the couple to drive over to German’s house.
When they arrived at the property late at night, the teammate’s wife stayed with Vega, while her husband attempted to calm down his fellow Yankee.
German’s girlfriend later told another member of Yankees staff about the incident who reported it to MLB, triggering an investigation.
Although Vega never reported the incident to the police, the MLB investigation resulted in an 81-game suspension for German for a breach of the league’s domestic violence policy.
After finishing out his suspension in 2020, he returned to the Yankees – where he experienced a number of setbacks, including injuries and poor performances.
But just last week, German pitched MLB’s 24th perfect game.
In the entire history of major league baseball, 18 players have been suspended for domestic violence.
Cordero is the third member of the New York Yankees to get suspended under this policy, alongside German and Aroldis Chapman.
Chapman was suspended 30 games after an alleged domestic violence incident with his then-girlfriend in Florida.
No criminal charges were filed due to insufficient evidence – however, the league still suspended him.
