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Major League Baseball handed out some stiff penalties to Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras and others after a benches-clearing incident between Boston and the Nationals on Tuesday night.
Contreras received a seven-game suspension, the league announced. Red Sox outfielder Nate Eaton got a three-game ban. Nationals starter Cade Cavalli received a seven-game ban, the same length as Contreras. Washington righty Miles Mikolas was suspended for five games.
Each of the four players received an undisclosed fine, too. All four players are expected to appeal, and players often have their suspensions shortened once that process is finalized. Players who appeal can play while that process is ongoing, so Contreras and Eaton will likely be available for Friday night’s game. It’s unclear when they will get definitive word from Major League Baseball on the appeals.
The league came down hard on Contreras for a variety of reasons, sources said Thursday. His suspension was in part related to throwing his batting helmet in Cavalli’s direction and also related to a social media post that broke MLB rules. After being ejected, Contreras responded to a negative comment on Instagram from a fan by writing, “Come meet me at Fenway” in a post the league deemed was “inappropriate.” It is against league rules to post anything on social media during a game, even for players who are ejected. Contreras’ punishment would have been lighter without the social media activity and the specific action of throwing the helmet.
In the fourth inning of Tuesday night’s game, tensions between Cavalli and Contreras boiled over. Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said Cavalli screamed “Sit down, boy!” at Contreras after striking him out looking for the second out of the inning. Contreras, after asking Cavalli multiple times if he was speaking in his direction, charged toward the mound and fired his batting helmet in Cavalli’s direction as teammates (as well as Nationals players and coaches) held him back.
“He was instigating and I snapped, and it happened,” Contreras said.
Members of both clubs pushed and shoved each other on the field and Eaton and Mikolas were both ejected for scrapping. Cavalli was allowed to stay in the game and dominated, striking out 13 Red Sox in seven innings as Washington won, 8-1. He claimed his issue with Contreras began in the first inning when the slugger appeared to brush by him while jogging off the field when the inning ended. Contreras said he apologized for that but Cavalli said he received no such apology.
On Wednesday, Cavalli said his comments toward Contreras — which Tracy and others should have warranted an ejection — were not racially motivated.
“I’m extremely torn up about the way that things were perceived,” Cavalli told reporters. Obviously, there was no ill intention behind that. My teammates know me, my family knows me, this organization knows me. I couldn’t sleep because of it. It hurt my heart, knowing that, if there’s a 13-year-old Black kid in DC that sees that, that looked up to me, thinks that he perceived it in a way that wasn’t intended in the way that it came out, that he’s not looking up to me anymore. That hurts my heart."
According to MLB rules, players who are suspended for on-field infractions can’t be replaced on the roster, so the Red Sox will have to play short-handed when the suspensions begin.
With Contreras out for at least a handful of games — post-appeal, if he chooses that route — the Red Sox will be without a player who has started 81 of their first 85 games at first base and leads the team in virtually every offensive category, including home runs (18) and RBIs (53). Boston will likely use Romy Gonzalez and Andruw Monasterio at first base during Contreras’ suspension — with Nick Sogard (rehabbing at Double-A) and recently acquired corner infielder Brett Harris among the other options on the 40-man roster.
The Red Sox have nine road games left before the All-Star break (three at the Angels, three at the White Sox and three at the Mets). They will be without Contreras for most of that stretch, even if a successful appeal reduces his ban.
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