Thread: Nunez Leaves Marlins on Identity Issue

Nunez Leaves Marlins on Identity Issue

[img]http://media.nbcmiami.com/images/654*368/117329004.jpg[/img]
Marlins closer placed on restricted list and expected to miss rest of season

By David Hill | Friday, Sep 23, 2011 | Updated 10:00 AM EDTView
advertisement Florida Marlins closer Leo Nunez was placed on the restricted list Thursday and has left the country.

The reason? Two people people familiar with his immigration status told the Associated Press Nunez has been playing under an assumed name, and the issue prompted him to return Thursday to his native Dominican Republic.

Both people said the Marlins have been aware of the issue for several months. They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because Dominican and team officials haven't made any public comment on the case.

One of the people said Nunez's real name is Juan Carlos Oviedo and he's 29, a year older than listed in the team media guide. The Marlins placed Nunez on Major League Baseball's restricted list, and he isn't expected to pitch in the final week of the season.

His agent, Andy Mota, declined to comment. The Marlins traveled Thursday to Milwaukee for their final road series of the season.

This is probably the end of Nunez' Marlins career. He was set to get a hefty pay raise in arbitration this offseason (up to $6 million, some think). The Marlins were unlikely to pay that much for the closer dubbed The Leocoaster for the wild rides his appearances often took.

Nunez has 36 saves and a 4.06 ERA in 68 games this year. His ERA was 2.59 in late May but is 6.00 since then.

The players' association had not immediately determined whether to challenge the Marlins' decision to place him on the restricted list, a person familiar with the union's deliberations said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the union had not made any public statements.

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/sports/Nun ... 01963.html

'Nunez' Faces Charges Over Stolen Identity

updated 2011-09-24T15:45:19
Print Font: +-If he's seen the team's new logo, perhaps he won't mind.

The Marlins pitcher formerly known as Leo Nunez will likely face criminal charges for using a false identity, prosecutors in his native Dominican Republic told the Miami Herald.

Dominican officials confirmed to the Herald that 'Nunez' is actually Juan Carlos Oviedo, who at 29 is actually a year older than he is listed on the Marlins roster.

The increble story -- only the Marlins! -- was revealed this week when two people familiar with his immigration status told the Associated Press Oviedo had been playing under an assumed name and he finally 'fessed up.

"It's the first time I had a -- how should I say this -- a guy playing with an alias," McKeon told the AP before Friday's game. "I don't know what the circumstances are."

Oviedo, who was placed on the Marlins' restricted list, returned home on Thursday.

Jacqueline Lamarche, a spokeswoman for the Dominican Attorney General's Office, told the Herald that Oviedo will face jail time if he's convicted.

The pitcher could also run into trouble getting a United States visa to return to Major League Baseball if he ends up with conviction for false identity on his record.

Domincan consul general Manuel Felipe Almanzar told the Herald that Oviedo stole his best friend's name.

"He came in and made a sworn declaration saying that he was not from Jamao al Norte but from Bonoa, a town in the Dominican Republic, and that when he was young - still a minor and a prospect about to be signed - a coach who managed his league recommended that he assume another name, one of a person a year younger, so that he could get a better contract," Almanzar told the Herald.

"So he became Leonel Nunez Morales, who was his best friend since childhood. That made it easier for him, because Leonel was 16, which was an appropriate age for a Dominican baseball player."

Although the MLB offered amnesty to players born in a foreign country if they admitted to playing under false identities or birth certificates, Oveido didn't confess when originally confronted, reports the Herald.

Oviedo flew back to Santo Domingo under a new passport bearing his birth name, the paper said.

"He's had success with a false name, and he wants to fix it," Almanzar told the Herald. "I sat there with my mouth open. You have to understand: I am a fan! I go to Marlins games to see him pitch."

Oviedo has 36 saves and a 4.06 ERA in 68 games this year. His ERA was 2.59 in late May, but is 6.00 since then.

"You hate to see it because he's a good kid," McKeon told the Herald. "I think sometimes they get bad information."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44651854

Looks like the MLB needs to start using E-Verify.

Originally Posted by OneNationUnderGod

Looks like the MLB needs to start using E-Verify.

"Jose can you see!"

With immigration case settled, RHP Oviedo says he’ll be ready to rejoin Marlins in late July

By Associated Press, Updated: Tuesday, May 29, 9:52 AM

JUPITER, Fla. — Reliever Juan Carlos Oviedo stood outside the Miami Marlins’ spring training clubhouse Tuesday, eager to resume his career under a new name.

He last pitched as Leo Nunez. His 2011 season ended abruptly in September after officials discovered he had been playing under a fake name since he turned professional in 2000.

Oviedo was issued a new visa last week after clearing up his immigration status in the Dominican Republic, and now that he’s back in the United States, he can begin serving an eight-week suspension from Major League Baseball for age and identity fraud.

He’ll be eligible to rejoin the Marlins on July 23 and expects to be ready.

“With my name Juan Carlos Oviedo, I’m the same guy,” he said in Spanish through a translator. “It’s the same arm.”

Oviedo will begin a minor-league rehabilitation assignment two weeks before he’s eligible to join the Marlins.

“It’s good to have closure. Now it’s time for him to get ready to hopefully help us later this summer,” president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest said. “His name has changed. I’m hoping the stuff is the same, and we think it is. That’s an awful big arm with a lot of experience to add at the end of July.”

Oviedo saved 92 games for the Marlins in 2009-11, including 36 last year, and the Marlins gave him a $6 million, one-year contract this offseason. But with his availability uncertain, they also signed All-Star closer Heath Bell, and Oviedo will have a setup role when he returns.

During spring training, manager Ozzie Guillen joked that Nunez would pitch the seventh inning and Oviedo the eighth. Oviedo said he’ll be happy with any role.

“If they put me in in the seventh or the first inning, it doesn’t matter,” he said. “All I want to do is play.”

Oviedo has said he began using a fake name as a youth so he could say he was old enough to sign a pro contract. When the fraud was finally discovered, he feared his career might be finished.

“I was scared,” he said. “There are no words to explain how happy I am now that I have my name. My dad’s name, who died, which is what he wanted for me.”

Major League Baseball, the players’ association and several lawyers were involved in clearing up the situation. Oviedo’s status was still in doubt when the Marlins began the season in their new ballpark amid considerable hoopla.

“I had the Marlins channel in my house. I was watching them,” Oviedo said. “Many times I would turn the channel off because I would feel a little sad.

“I feel very happy that I am here. That’s all that I wanted to do — be in the United States to return to my team and help.”

With immigration case settled, RHP Oviedo says he’ll be ready to rejoin Marlins in late July - The Washington Post

Oh, big sports figures get a slap on the wrist.