Toronto Blue Jays catcher Reese McGuire was arrested in Dunedin, Florida on Friday after allegedly exposing himself in a parking lot. TMZ reports that deputies from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office were called to a parking lot after a man was seen exposing himself in an SUV.
The officers told TMZ that they arrived and arrested McGuire in the parking lot of a Florida strip mall. He was reportedly “cooperative and did not deny the allegations.” He was booked for misdemeanor “exposure of sexual organs.”
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McGuire is due in court on Mar. 16 to face charges from the incident. The team is starting spring training, but this court date will fall on an off-day. The pitchers and catchers were supposed to report to spring training on Wednesday.
“The Blue Jays are aware of the recent police incident involving catcher Reese McGuire,” the team said in a statement Wednesday. “He has been in communication with the club and we are working to gather more information. Out of respect for the legal process, neither he nor the club will comment any further at this time.”
There were several questions about this incident on Wednesday as many Blue Jays fans asked for more details. They wanted to know if McGuire was truly exposing himself or if he was simply changing his clothes.
“He was caught with his pants down,” one user commented on Twitter. “Probably changing in the car after smashing some balls out of the park.”
A former first-round pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates out of high school in Covington, Washington, McGuire spent seven years in the minor leagues before moving to Major League Baseball. He was acquired by the Blue Jays in 2016 as part of a trade with the Pirates. Pittsburgh sent veteran left-hander Francisco Liriano, McGuire, and prospect Harold Ramirez to the Blue Jays in exchange for right-hander Drew Hutchison.
McGuire has played 44 games for the Blue Jays since joining the team in 2018. He has hit seven home runs during this time while batting .297. He is currently listed as a backup catcher on the depth chart behind starter Danny Jansen.
Prior to joining the Blue Jays as part of the trade, McGuire made his way to Double-A in 2016. He was at bat 266 times with 29 walks and just 26 strikeouts. He also threw out 39 percent of runners attempting to steal.
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