Although Robinson Cano is ready to return from an 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs Kyle Barraclough Jersey , his comeback is doomed to be short-lived. Even if the Seattle Mariners qualify for the postseason, Cano will be ineligible to participate.Meanwhile, in Houston, Roberto Osuna is fresh off a 75-game banfor violating Major League Baseball'sdomestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy. And he's ready, willing and permitted to help the Astros win a second straight World Series championship.Something seems wrong, no?If the question is how much cynicism MLB is willing to tolerate, there is.For their part, Cano and the Mariners would undoubtedly love to be together if the team does indeed make its first postseason since 2001. He betrayed everyone's trust when he got popped for using a banned masking agent,but he's still a $240 million megastar who had been going strong (see his .825 OPS) even at the age of 35.However, this isn't about what's best for Cano and the Mariners.Mark Cunningham/Getty ImagesAlong with harsher regular-season penalties, postseasonbans became an official part of MLB's and the MLB Players Association's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program in 2014. That promised an additional blow to violators' wallets. It would also bar them from redemption on baseball's biggest stage."Our hope here is that the adjustments that we鈥檝e made do inevitably get [the number of violators] to zero," said MLBPA chief Tony Clark, per the Associated Press (via theNew York Times). He added: "I am hopeful that players make the right decisions that are best for them, for their careers and for the integrity of the game."Clark may be getting his wish.Per Baseball-Almanac.com, there were 21 PED suspensions in 2012 and 2013 alone. There have been only 22 since 2014. Not surprisingly, none of the players involved was traded to a contender later in a given season.Which brings us back to Osuna and a cringe-worthy situation that might be avoided in the future.Since the details of his case are being kept under wraps http://www.marlinsfanproshop.com/authentic-nick-wittgren-jersey , only so much is known about how, exactly, the former Toronto Blue Jays right-hander has found himself in hot water. But there is a clear timeline:May 8:Osuna isarrested and charged with assault of a female victimMay 17: According toVjosa Isai and Wendy Gillisof theToronto Star,Osuna is ordered to stay away from a specific Toronto building, not communicate with his alleged victim and not consume alcohol or possess weaponsJune 18:Osuna's attorney, Domenic Basile, confirms to Betsy Powell of Star that the charge revolves around an "alleged domestic abuse" for which Osunawill plead not guiltyJune 22:MLB concludes its investigation, and Commissioner Rob Manfred hands Osuna the third-longest suspension under its domestic violence policy, which went into effect August 2015July 30:Following supposed "unprecedented" due diligence, the Astrosacquire Osuna from the Blue JaysAugust 6:Osuna returns to the moundWhile Osuna's suspension is over, his criminal case is not.According to Matt Young of theHouston Chronicle, the All-Star closer has a court date in Toronto on Sept. 5. Basile plans to seek a postponement and a "peace bond," which would result in the charges being dropped in exchange for Osuna's promise that he will stay on good behavior.If that doesn't pan out, things will proceed and possibly result in Osuna being convicted and/orbarred entry from the United States.In the meantime, the Astros have a public relations nightmare on their hands.There's no taking issue with the actual content of the trade. Houston only sent three spare assets (right-handers Ken Giles, David Paulino and Hector Perez) to Toronto in exchange for Osuna, who's still only 23 and under team control through 2020.Still Orlando Arcia Jersey , general manager Jeff Luhnow sought to get out ahead of the inevitable backlash. Thus came astatement that expressed confidence that "Osuna is remorseful" and that he'll "fully comply with our zero tolerance policy related to abuse of any kind."Luhnow's bit on "zero tolerance" was rightfully panned as being blatantly disingenuous, however. The bit about Osuna being remorsefulearned a pointed clarification from Basile. Via ESPN's Buster Olney:Buster Olney Buster_ESPNRoberto Osunas lawyer speaking about the word quot;remorsefulquot; that was used by the Astros in reference to their new reliever: quot;My client is not remorseful of being guilty of any criminal activity,quot; Basile said Wednesday. quot;Hes obviously remorseful of the circumstances.quot;Luhnow may have been hoping that his team and its fans would graciously accept Osuna, but there's been some hesitance for both. Ace pitcher Justin Verlander referred to the trade as a "tough situation." When one female fan expressed her frustration on social media, the reaction was swift and severe."Astros fans have always stuck together," the fan told Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle. "It was crazy to see how this trade tore them apart a little. Everyone took a side."But then, it's doubtful that Luhnow and the rest of Houston's decision-makers ever thought everything would be hunky-dory after they went ahead with the trade. Or even cared, for that matter.They're poker-faced pragmatists whose chief concern is winning another World Series.Since there's no guarantee that Osuna's legal situation will keep him on the field beyond 2018, that was almost certainly the Astros' primary motivation in trading for himnow rather than waiting until after he had cleared his suspension and/or his name. If it ends with Osuna getting the last out in the World Series, they're not going to be quick to regret it.This isn't the first situation of its kind that MLB has encountered in the years since it implemented its domestic policy. That distinction belongs to Aroldis Chapman, who still bears a scarlet letter after his girlfriend told police he choked her during an argument inOctober 2015.But even with him, there's no comparison to Osuna.Elsa/Getty ImagesChapman hadn't been charged when the New Yankees first acquiredhim from the Cincinnati Reds in December 2015, and he ultimately never was. And while the Chicago Cubs eventually traded for him in July and he helped them win their first World Series in 108 years, that was after the flame-throwing lefty had already served a30-game suspension.Granted, Major League Baseball may never be able to implement a perfect domestic violence policy鈥擣anGraphs' Sheryl Ring wrote an excellent rundown of the complications on that front. But for the sake of its reputation with the legions of baseball fans withactualzero tolerance policies for such matters, theunparalleled cynical nature of the Osuna trade should have the league scrambling to try to do better.Given the latest circumstances, the most apparent way to do that is by copying the postseason ban portion of the Joint Drug Agreement and pasting it onto the domestic violence policy. If it must only come in tandem with a specific regular-season suspension threshold鈥攕ay Jonathan Villar Jersey , 50 games鈥攖hen so be it.If nothing else, it would add another layer of deterrence for players. It could also help prevent trades like one that sent Osuna to Houston, in which the acquiring team elevates baseball matters above basic human decency.Understand, this isn't about drawing a moral equivalence between the transgressions of Cano and Osuna.Assuming hisexcuseof trying to treat a medical condition is as bunk as it sounds, Cano was only trying to improve his ability to entertain. He just didn't do so in a way that MLB has deemed appropriate.Relative to that, an alleged act of violence against another human being is more severe.Ultimately, this is about what MLB must do to be both a lucrative institution and one that its fans can be proud of. To this end, more compassion and a little consistency would be a good start. OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Mark Canha homered and Matt Chapman hit an RBI double to back Trevor Cahill, leading the Oakland Athletics past the New York Yankees 6-3 on Monday in a matchup between two teams in the AL wild-card race.The A’s jumped on CC Sabathia early and pulled within 3 1/2 games of New York for the first wild card.Cahill (6-3) defeated the Yankees for the first time in seven career appearances, the only AL team he’d never beaten. The right-hander improved to 5-0 with a 1.09 ERA in nine home starts, striking out three to leave him one shy of 1,000 for his career. Cahill allowed four hits and three runs — two earned — in five innings.Lou Trivino relieved Cahill and struck out the side in the sixth. Jeurys Familia issued consecutive two-out walks in the eighth but got out of it unscathed before Blake Treinen finished for his 36th save.Luke Voit hit a two-run homer for New York, which welcomed back manager Aaron Boone to the bench after he served a one-game suspension Sunday.Sabathia (7-6) retired Marcus Semien on a flyball before surrendering four straight singles and a bases-loaded walk to Matt Olson as the A’s went ahead 3-1.New York answered right back on Voit’s seventh home run that came on a 3-2 pitch.The lefty, pitching back home in the Bay Area, was done after Semien’s one-out double in the fourth for his second-shortest outing of 2018. With just one victory in his past nine starts, Sabathia allowed four earned runs and seven hits with four strikeouts and two walks.Oakland has won six of the last eight meetings with the Yankees.BIG STEP FOR JUDGEYankees slugger Aaron Judge took his first swings off a tee since breaking his right wrist July 26 http://www.brewersfanproshop.com/authentic-lorenzo-cain-jersey , a significant early step in what he hopes is a return to the field for New York in a couple of weeks.Judge, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year, took 25 dry swings Monday in Oakland’s center-field cage before taking another 25 off the tee at what he called 100 percent effort. He said he felt good enough in recent days and without pain that the decision was made he would begin hitting again.“Just moving in the right direction. Definitely a big step,” Judge said, sitting in the Oakland Coliseum dugout. “I’m kind of on track with what we kind of wanted to accomplish, so I’m excited about the progress we’re making so far. It feels good. So I’ve just got to keep moving forward, keep having good days and just keep kind of building off that. Hopefully ramp it up here in the next couple days and be back out there soon.”Judge could take live batting practice as soon as this weekend.BACK IN THE BAYNew Yankees right fielder Andrew McCutchen received warm applause after his lineup introduction. He arrived in the Bronx on Friday, played for his new club all weekend then returned right back to the Bay Area where he’d been with the Giants.McCutchen led off the game with a single, stole second, reached third on catcher Jonathan Lucroy’s error and scored the game’s first run.TRAINER’S ROOMYankees: SS Didi Gregorius, sidelined with a bruised left heel he hurt Aug. 19 in a collision with Toronto’s Kendrys Morales beating out an infield single, is set to run the bases Tuesday and Boone said he is “very close to a return.” … New York outrighted OF Shane Robinson and LHP Ryan Bollinger to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.Athletics: LHP Brett Anderson (strained pitching forearm) is slated to throw off a mound Wednesday. … The A’s acquired RHP Aaron Brooks from the Brewers for cash and designated LHP Danny Coulombe for assignment.UP NEXTJ.A. Happ (15-6, 4.00 ERA) starts Tuesday night and is 5-0 with a 3.38 ERA over six starts since joining New York from the Blue Jays before the trade deadline. Oakland had yet to name a starter for the middle game of the series.
