May 04--REPORTING FROM ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Dodgers suspended minor league shortstop Erisbel Arruebarrena for the rest of the season, marking the second consecutive year the team has imposed such a sanction upon him.
Gabe Kapler, the Dodgers' minor league director, said Arruebarrena had been suspended for "his repeated failure to comply with the terms of his contract." Kapler did not elaborate, but the Dodgers used almost the exact same language in announcing his suspension last year.
That suspension was reduced to 30 days after negotiations between the team and the player's agent. Arruebarrena is not on the Dodgers' 40-man roster, so he is not represented by the Major League Baseball Players Assn.
The Dodgers signed Arruebarrena, a slick-fielding, light-hitting shortstop out of Cuba, to a $25-million contract in 2014. He played 22 games in the major leagues that season, batting .195, but has not returned to the major leagues.
Arruebarrena, 26, was batting .182 in 17 games at double-A Tulsa this season.
The suspension is unpaid. The Dodgers owe him $4 million next year and $5 million in 2017.
bill.shaikin@latimes.com
Twitter: @BillShaikin
