Aroldis Chapman banned 30 games under MLB domestic violence policy

— -- New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman has been suspended 30 games by commissioner Rob Manfred under Major League Baseball's new domestic violence policy for his involvement in an alleged incident last October. 

He will not appeal. 

"Today, I accepted a 30 game suspension from Major League Baseball resulting from my actions on October 30, 2015," Chapman said in a statement. "I want to be clear, I did not in any way harm my girlfriend that evening. However, I should have exercised better judgment with respect to certain actions, and for that I am sorry. The decision to accept a suspension, as opposed to appealing one, was made after careful consideration. I made this decision in an effort to minimize the distractions that an appeal would cause the Yankees, my new teammates and most importantly, my family. I have learned from this matter, and I look forward to being part of the Yankees' quest for a 28th World Series title. Out of respect for my teammates and my family, I will have no further comment."

The suspension will go into effect on Opening Day. Chapman can participate in all spring training and preseason games. 

"Much of the information regarding the incident has been made public through documents released by law enforcement," Manfred said in a statement. "Mr. Chapman submitted to an in-person interview with counsel present. After reviewing the staff report, I found Mr. Chapman's acknowledged conduct on that day to be inappropriate under the negotiated Policy, particularly his use of a firearm and the impact of that behavior on his partner. I am gratified that Mr. Chapman has taken responsibility for his conduct, that he has agreed not to appeal the 30-game suspension, and that he has agreed to comply with the confidential directives of the Joint Policy Board established under the parties' Policy to ensure that a similar incident does not occur in the future."

The Cuban-born lefty, acquired by the Yankees in January from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for four minor leaguers, was under investigation for an incident at his home on Oct. 30, when he is alleged to have choked his girlfriend after an argument that began after she "found something on his phone that she did not like," according to a police report obtained by ESPN.

Chapman told police that he poked the woman on the shoulder and she fell to the ground. According to the police report, after family members broke up the altercation, Chapman said he went into his car, punched the passenger side window and suffered a laceration on his finger. He also acknowledged firing eight shots from a handgun in his garage during the incident.

Citing a lack of sufficient evidence, conflicting stories and failure of witnesses to cooperate, the Davie (Fla.) Police Department did not charge Chapman and said the investigation was closed pending any new evidence. However, the Broward State Attorney's office in Florida said that decision was based on a preliminary, informal phone conversation and it requested reports so it could review the matter further.

The state's attorney announced on Jan. 21 that no charges would be filed against Chapman. Chapman has twice left Yankees camp with permission to attend to "personal matters."

Chapman will lose $1,856,557 in salary, a figure based out of 183 baseball days, not 162 games. 

Chapman's case was one of three investigated by MLB this offseason as part of a new domestic violence policy the league instituted in August 2015. The others involved Jose Reyes of the Colorado Rockies and Yasiel Puig of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Chapman is the first player to be suspended under the new policy. 

Reyes was placed on paid leave last week. He is facing a charge stemming from an incident with his wife in Hawaii in October. Puig still hasn't received any potential disciplinary penalty after a reported altercation with his sister and a bouncer at a Miami nightclub last November.