Pittsburgh Pirates closer Felipe Vazquez has been arrested and charged with solicitation of a child and providing obscene material to minors, according to James Santelli of KDKA.
Vazquez was arrested on Tuesday morning on a warrant out of Lee County, Fl.
Florida authorities state that Vasquez propositioned a 15-year-old girl, sending her a message asking her to meet for sex after the season.
Vazquez has appeared in 56 games out of the bullpen this year, pitching to the tune of a 1.65 ERA while allowing 43 hits and striking out 90 batters over 60 innings of work with 28 saves. He made the All-Star team as a result.
The 28-year-old was originally signed by the Tampa Bay Rays as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela back in 2008, but never actually pitched in a major-league game with the Rays before being traded to the Washington Nationals in February 2014.
He made his big-league debut in 2015, making 49 relief appearances and going 2-1 with a 1.79 ERA while surrendering 35 hits and fanning 43 hitters across 48.1 frames of action.
Vazquez was then traded to the Pirates midway through the 2015 campaign.
He became Pittsburgh's closer in 2017, going 5-3 with 21 saves through 73 relief outings. He logged a minuscule 1.67 ERA, permitting 47 hits and registering 88 punchouts over 75.1 innings.
Vazquez then made his first All-Star appearance in 2018 after going 4-2 with a 2.70 ERA, recording a 2.70 ERA while giving up 63 hits and totaling 89 strikeouts across 70 frames. He posted 37 saves.
He owns a career ERA of 2.61 ERA over 323 relief appearances.
The Pirates currently own a record of 65-85 and will take on the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday.
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