TORONTO – Roberto Osuna’s court case was remanded to Sept. 19 on Wednesday, raising the possibility that the assault charge the Houston Astros closer faces may remain unresolved when he returns to Toronto for a series versus the Blue Jays later this month.
The usually expansive Domenic Basile, Osuna’s lawyer, was very brief in his comments on the Old City Hall steps after getting the adjournment, saying only that "the discussions that I’m having with the Crown prosecutor are continuing and ongoing and we’ll see what happens on the 19th."
Pressed on what’s holding up his pursuit of a peace bond for his client, Basile replied, "I hope I’ll have more to say on the 19th," before thanking reporters and walking off.
The quiet suggests discussions over a resolution may be reaching their end game, and that the case may go trial if an agreement can’t be reached over the next two weeks.
Peace bonds – in which a charge is withdrawn under certain conditions – are a common resolution for cases such as Osuna’s. His profile and the wide attention garnered by his May 8 arrest and charge of assaulting a woman may be a complicating factor.
The arrest occurred while Osuna was a member of the Blue Jays, who traded the 23-year-old to the Astros on July 30 for closer Ken Giles and pitching prospects Hector Perez and David Paulino.
At the time he was approaching the end of a 75-game suspension handed down by Major League Baseball for violating the sport’s joint domestic violence policy, a punishment Osuna didn’t appeal. In July, Basile insisted "there’s no admission of guilt by Roberto," in accepting the discipline and that "it doesn’t change anything in the criminal court."
The Astros visit to Toronto on Sept. 24-26 and while there are no legal restrictions that would prevent Osuna from pitching in that series, he’d surely prefer to not have the charge hanging over his head during his return.
The same applies for the post-season, as the Astros look to defend their World Series title.
