Toledo, Ohio, police confirmed minor league prospects Dovydas Neverauskas, Gift Ngoepe and Warwick Saupold were arrested on Aug. 28 following an altercation at a bar, per MiLB.com’s Danny Wild.
Neverauskas and Ngoepe are both members of the Indianapolis Indians, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate.
“We are extremely disappointed in the actions of Gift and Dovydas,” Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said in a statement, per Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “We have made the decision to suspend both players for seven days, taking them through the remainder of their seasons.”
Saupold pitches for the Mud Hens, the Detroit Tigers’ Triple-A affiliate. Dave Littlefield, the Tigers vice president of player development, said the team was alerted to Saupold’s arrest and “will let legal system take its course,” per MLB.com’s Jason Beck.
On Thursday, the Tigers announced they were suspending Saupold for five games, per Beck.
Authorities charged Neverauskas with two counts of resisting arrest and failure to obey a lawful order, while Ngoepe and Saupold were both charged with assault. Wild provided details of what happened leading up to the incident:
According to the report, Ngoepe, Saupold and Neverauskas were drinking together at the bar late Saturday night before Ngoepe allegedly confronted another man, Andrey Goncharuk, 25, after bartenders announced the establishment would be closing for the night. Witnesses said Ngoepe was unhappy about a bartender pouring out a drink the Indianapolis shortstop had handed him.
Goncharuk, according to witnesses, then got in between an irate Ngoepe and a female bartender, which led to the pair pushing each other. Following the scuffle, the trio of players exited the bar, but Ngoepe waited outside for Goncharuk, according to witnesses in the report.
The bar in question is adjacent to Fifth Third Field, where the Mud Hens play their home games. Outside the establishment, Saupold struck Andrey Goncharuk, and Ngoepe and Neverauskas interfered with officers who were in the process of making arrests.
According to Lucas County, Ohio, arrest records, all three players were released on Sunday. Saupold pitched in Monday’s game against the Indians, going five innings in relief in an 8-1 win for Toledo.
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