Dodgers: High profile trade deadline target Vazquez arrested

In a move that has nothing to do with baseball, the Pirates shifted Felipe Vazquez, the Dodgers near deadline add, to the restricted list after his arrest.

Though Vazquez has not yet gone to trial, the charges are serious and frightening. Hopefully, both for Vazquez and for the alleged victim, Vazquez did not commit these crimes, as he is one of the most promising relievers in the game with an outgoing personality that could be good for the game.

But if he is guilty, then the Dodgers seem to have averted a disaster that could potentially have disrupted the clubhouse and their dismantled their playoff chemistry quite easily. For the Pirates, they may already have seen their star reliever damaging team chemistry. Vazquez and Kyle Crick got in a physical altercation that injured Crick just last week, though Crick does have a history of clubhouse fights and brawls.

More from Dodgers Way

• Kevin Kiermaier being ‘top target’ to replace Cody Bellinger is bad sign for Dodgers
• Are the Dodgers really prepared to hand Shohei Ohtani a blank check?
• Dodgers fans shouldn’t dismiss interest in Dansby Swanson for this reason
• Giants laughably sign pitcher that Dodgers absolutely own
• Dave Roberts’ quote about Padres in NLDS should motivate Dodgers

For me, I do not like to connect crimes off the field and a player’s ability on the field. Baseball is a game before it is a profession, and thus should be insulated from criminal activity, from steroids to more serious charges.

But at the same time, the Dodgers have not remained out of the news when its come to player conduct, and no team really seems immune. But outside of the Julio Urias case early in the season, the Dodgers have not really had to deal with any major criminal case since that of Aroldis Chapman.

In a situation that is oddly similar to that of Vazquez, not just because they both throw 100-mph from the left side late in games, Chapman ran into legal trouble that kept him from being dealt to the Dodgers from the Cincinnati Reds back in December of 2015.

The charges faced by Chapman prompted the Dodgers to cancel their deal with the Reds, something that may well have happened this offseason with Vazquez had the arrest been made one or two months later.