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Yankees reliever Jimmy Cordero was handed one the longest suspensions in major league history for violating MLB’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy, though scant details have emerged about what led to the suspension that will cost him the rest of 2023.
The commissioner’s office announced Wednesday that the right-hander had accepted a suspension for the rest of the season, amounting to a 76-game ban — plus the postseason if the Yankees qualify.
After MLB handed down the decision, the Yankees said in their own statement that the organization supports MLB’s punishment, adding that “there is no justification for domestic violence, and we stand with the objectives, standards and enforcement of MLB’s policy.”
Manager Aaron Boone told reporters before Wednesday’s game against the Orioles in The Bronx that he learned of the suspension on Tuesday night and Cordero, 31, had made him aware of the investigation “a couple of days ago.”
“He came to me a couple of days ago and gave a heads up as to an investigation going on and that’s kind of the extent of it,” Boone said, per SNY.
Why was Cordero suspended?
While the suspension was formally announced Wednesday, there is still little known about Cordero’s violation of the Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy.
Per the policy, the Yankees will not be made aware of any of the details of the incident that led to the suspension, according to SNY’s Andy Martino.
“My biggest thing right now is just feeling for the situation and hoping and praying that something good comes out of this,” Boone said.
“That there’s maturity, that there’s growth, that there is healing in whatever is going on.”
Cordero is the third member of the Yankees to be suspended under the policy and the first since Domingo German was given an 81-game suspension following a 2019 incident that occurred during a gala hosted by former Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia.
Aroldis Chapman was suspended 30 games in 2016 for an alleged domestic dispute that occurred in Florida with his then-girlfriend.
Cordero is the eighth player in baseball to receive a suspension of at least 75 games since it enacted the policy on domestic violence.
Trevor Bauer, now pitching in Japan, received the longest suspension under the policy when he was handed a 324-game ban before it was reduced to 194 games.
Cordero’s social media disappears
The reliever appeared to leave Instagram after the news of his suspension was made public.
Cordero had an account under the handle j.cordero52, but it was listed as “isn’t available” on the app as of Wednesday evening.
One of Cordero’s last posts had been a congratulatory message to German for the perfect game he had pitched on June 28, per the blog Pinstripe Alley.
A Twitter account appearing to belong to Cordero was still live, with the last post also showing a graphic of German’s perfecto.
Cordero’s journey to Yankees
The Dominican-born pitcher has had a few stops over his relatively short career, becoming a solid option for the Yankees out of their bullpen this season before the suspension.
In 31 appearances this season, Cordero had posted an ERA of 3.86 and a 1.071 WHIP in 32 ⅔ innings.
New York’s bullpen had the best ERA (2.82) in the majors before Cordero’s suspension.
Codero’s journey to the major started long before this year when he was signed as an international free agent by the Blue Jays in 2015.
He pitched in Toronto’s farm system until 2015, when he was traded to the Phillies for Ben Revere at the July 31 trade deadline.
He remained with the Phillies organization until he was traded in December 2016 to the Nationals.
He made his big league debut on Aug. 2, 2018, against the Cincinnati Reds, allowing two runs in one frame.
Cordero appeared in 22 games for Washington in 2018, but he was designated for assignment the following May and subsequently bounced around the Blue Jays, Mariners and White Sox systems for the rest of 2019.
He appeared in 60 games for Chicago between the 2019 and 2020 seasons but underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2021, costing him that entire season.
Cordero found his way to the Yankees organization in December 2021 after he became a free agent when the White Sox cut him.
He spent the entire 2022 season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the minors before joining the Yankees from the outset of 2023.
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