Inquiry Absolves Mondesi

HOUSTON —  A six-week investigation has uncovered no evidence that outfielder Raul Mondesi skirted baseball rules so he could abandon the last-place Pittsburgh Pirates and subsequently sign with the Angels, the major league executive leading the probe said Monday.

“It had an unfortunate appearance of manipulation,” executive vice president Sandy Alderson said. “But, as far as we can tell, it was not a manipulation of the system.”

Mondesi, embroiled in a legal dispute in the Dominican Republic and expressing concern for the safety of his family there, left the Pirates on May 7 and returned to his homeland. The Pirates put him on the restricted list May 11 and, when he did not rejoin the team one week later, terminated his contract and subsequently released him. The Angels signed him May 29, eight days after his release, when they were in first place.

Alderson, directed by Commissioner Bud Selig to review the sequence of events, spoke with the Angels and Pirates and dispatched investigators to the Dominican Republic. The Pirates, who opted to release Mondesi rather than keep him on indefinite unpaid leave, did not ask for an inquiry.

Mondesi entertained offers from several clubs almost immediately after the Pirates released him, but Alderson said investigators concluded his concern over matters at home appeared legitimate at the time he left the team. Alderson confirmed the Angels did not contact Mondesi before he became a free agent.

Alderson said the investigation would formally conclude “in the next few days” and said he expected the findings to stand “in the absence of more information.”

Mondesi played eight games for the Angels, batting .118, before going onto the disabled list because of a torn quadriceps muscle. He hopes to return next month.