NEW YORK -- A Fort Lee, N.J., judge on Thursday dismissed charges against Mets closer Jeurys Familia, who was scheduled to stand trial for a charge of simple assault. Prosecutors met with Familia earlier in the morning, according to reports, and recommended the charges be dropped.
Familia was arrested Oct. 31 following a domestic complaint that drew police to a Fort Lee apartment. He lives in New Jersey with his partner, Bianca Rivas, and their 1-year-old son.
A Major League Baseball spokesman said late Thursday morning that the league's independent investigation of Familia is ongoing. The Mets issued a brief statement to that end, saying: "We will await the outcome of MLB's investigation."
It remains to be seen how the dismissed charges will affect MLB's internal investigation of Familia, if at all. Commissioner Rob Manfred recently said the league plans to wait out the legal process before launching a probe of its own. MLB's recently instituted domestic violence policy gives Manfred the power to suspend Familia despite the lack of a legal conviction, as MLB did in the cases of Mets infielder José Reyes and Yankees reliever Aroldis Chapman.
Like Familia, neither Reyes nor Chapman stood trial for their alleged roles in domestic violence incidents, but those two received 51- and 30-game suspensions, respectively.
Earlier this offseason, Manfred said the league plans to take its time to review Familia's case.
"We have the luxury of not being on the field right now, and we're going to take advantage of that," Manfred said.