Major League Baseball finally issued a ruling on Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado’s suspension.
MLB upheld Machado’s five-game ban Monday after an appeals process that lasted nearly three weeks. The 21-year-old, who first was notified of his punishment on June 10, will begin serving it Monday night, missing the entire four-game set against the Texas Rangers and the series opener against the Boston Red Sox. He’s eligible to return for Saturday night’s game at Fenway Park.
Machado’s suspension came after a messy weekend series against the Oakland A’s in which he incited two bench-clearing altercations, the second of which came after he let go of his bat mid-swing and hurled it down the third base line.
A’s catcher Derek Norris also was hit in the head multiple times by Machado backswings during the series, prompting him to call the Orioles star’s actions “a disgrace to baseball.”
Machado has shown improvement at the plate over the last three weeks but still carries a lackluster .239/.291/.371 slash line.
