Early Friday morning, Rangers reliever Jeremy Jeffress was arrested in Dallas for DWI. Rebecca Lopez of WFAA TV first reported arrest.
Dallas police sources say Texas Rangers pitcher Jeremy Jeffress was arrested this morning for DWI.
— Rebecca Lopez (@rlopezwfaa) August 26, 2016
The Rangers have since confirmed the arrest, and Friday afternoon they placed Jeffress on the restricted list because he is "not able to report and perform services under his Uniform Player's Contract ("UPC") for tonight's game." Here is the team's statement:
"The Rangers are certainly disappointed in Jeremy's actions of early this morning," said President of Baseball Operations Jon Daniels. "We have been in touch with Jeremy's representatives and Major League Baseball, and are continuing to work through this situation and gather more information."
The restricted list is effectively an unpaid suspension. Teams use the restricted list when a player is unable to play for non-injury reasons, such as an arrest or voluntary retirement.
MLB has long had a voluntary treatment program for players involved in certain alcohol-related incidents. The league implemented a new domestic violence policy last year, but that does not cover DUI or DWI.
Jeffress, 28, went to the Rangers with Jonathan Lucroy at the trade deadline. He has a 2.52 ERA in 53 2/3 innings this season. Jeffress was suspended twice in the minors after testing positive for a drug of abuse.
