Chapman gets 30-game ban

New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman agreed to accept a 30-game suspension under Major League Baseball's domestic violence policy, a penalty stemming from an incident with his girlfriend last October.

Under the discipline announced Tuesday, Chapman will serve the penalty from the start of the season in April. He will lose 30 days of pay - $1,856,557 of his $11,325,000 salary - and 30 days of major-

league service time.

Chapman became the first player penalized a finite number of games under the policy, which MLB and the players' association agreed to in August after several high-profile incidents among NFL players.

Baseball's investigation of Chapman stemmed from Oct. 30. Chapman's girlfriend, 22-year-old Cristina Barnea, told police he pushed and choked her. Chapman said there was an argument but that he was pushed down by Barnea's brother, eventually getting a handgun and firing eight shots into a wall and window while locked in his garage.

Authorities declined to file charges, saying conflicting accounts and insufficient evidence made a conviction unlikely.

Salvador Perez signed a club-friendly deal with the Royals four years ago in part so his mother, Yilda, would no longer have to work in their increasingly violent hometown in Venezuela. Now, Perez hopes he can move her to the United States permanently.

The Royals signed the all-star catcher to a contract through 2021 that guarantees him an additional $52.5 million over five seasons.

- Associated Press