Not yet former Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Felipe Vazquez will remain in jail. This is the news after Vazquez failed to post bond and was denied bail.
Furthermore, we are to this point in the story because the Pirates’ closer is charged with statutory sexual assault. Equally important, the person was younger than 16; reported to be a 13-year old girl when the incidents began in August of 2017.
Before this storyline broke, Vazquez was in the midst of an All-Star season for the Pirates. He compiled 27 saves with a 1.65 ERA in 60 innings pitched. At the trade deadline, the Pirates commanded a hefty price tag of two to three top prospects from several contenders for his services. After all offers were received, they opted to hang onto the pitcher.
Now, he sits in a jail cell in Pennsylvania.
Bail denied for Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez at Westmoreland County arraignment https://t.co/DnVIYQrAqL
— Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (@PittsburghPG) September 26, 2019
Via the Pittsburgh Post Gazette Story:
“As a result of [the] consent between the commonwealth and defense counsel, there will be no bond,” District Judge Moore said during the hearing, which began just before 3 p.m. and lasted just a few minutes. Mr. Vazquez, a native of Venezuela, was accompanied by a translator during the hearing.
Surely there will be more to this story to come in the weeks and months ahead. While we continue to update the progression of it – it’s hard to imagine seeing Vazquez throwing another big league pitch. Although stranger things have taken place, Major League Baseball suspended Pete Rose for life for gambling.
Finally, Vazquez had the opportunity to speak while returning to his cell according to the story.
Later, when Mr. Vazquez was being returned to jail around 4 p.m., he smiled as he left the building and said, “I don’t want to say anything.”
We will have more on this story as it continues to develop from a legal standpoint.
