I just wrote this morning about a scary incident involving a star Dominican closer, pandemic safety laws, and a shotgun, and now there’s another incident involving a pro pitcher, pandemic safety laws, and the Dominican Republic.
This one hits closer to stateside ball:
This is not smart. Carlos Martinez lands in custody in the Dominican Republic. #stlcards https://t.co/E87gFccqai
— Jose de Jesus Ortiz (@OrtizKicks) November 23, 2020
Here's the story on Carlos Martinez being charged with violations of COVID-19 policies as part driving a motorcycle through his hometown in the Dominican with a singer, who also appears to have been charged: https://t.co/19Om00DuP9 #stlcards #Cardinals
— Derrick S. Goold (@dgoold) November 23, 2020
Per the report, Martinez participated in a huge event yesterday in violation of the island’s social distancing rules, and thereafter voluntarily surrendered to police. Several others – famous folks, it seems like? – were also detained.
I have no idea what the implications would be for Martinez here in the states, from MLB or the Cardinals. It’s possible any criminal consequences could be minor, but that doesn’t mean he won’t see some kind of discipline from MLB. Even in the offseason, it’s not as if they don’t have a vested interest in seeing their players take the dang pandemic seriously.
It’s particularly frustrating to see this kind of story after the Cardinals had a team-wide outbreak this year, one of just two clubs on which that happened. Lessons learned? Maybe not so much.
Martinez, 29, is heading into the final year of his deal with the Cardinals, followed by multiple team options. He hasn’t been healthy enough to be an effective starting pitcher in a good long while, but when put in the bullpen, he’s still been quite good. His future with the organization was already an open question.
More details as they become available.
UPDATE: Martinez’s representatives want to make sure this doesn’t sound worse than it is:
Spoke to Martinez's representative, and here's what he said: #stlcards pitcher is not currently and was not in custody. He may face a fine for violations. He was being part of the filming of a video, and that drew a crowd in his hometown. https://t.co/mQtuMGGu3M
— Derrick S. Goold (@dgoold) November 23, 2020