Red Sox pitcher Steven Wright charged with domestic assault

Red Sox starting pitcher Steven Wright was arrested Friday night in Tennessee on charges of domestic assault. Wright was released Saturday.

Wright's attorney, Alex Little, released a statement to NBCSports Boston which acknowledged the arrest, but maintained that it stemmed from a "verbal argument'' and didn't involve physical contact.

"On Friday night, Steven was arrested at our home following a verbal argument and the police charged him with domestic assault. Although he said things he deeply regrets, he did not raise his hand at anyone during the incident and the situation was purely emotional. We are working together as a family to make our relationships stronger, and we ask that you respect our privacy as we do so.''

The Red Sox, though team spokesman Kevin Gregg, released the following statement:

"We aware of the incident involving Steven. This is certainly a matter that the Red Sox take very seriously. It is my understanding that both local police and Major League Baseball are looking into this and for that reason, the club won't have any further comment at this time.''

Wright was limited to just five starts in 2017 after an early-season knee injury and was expected to be part of the Red Sox' starting rotation in 2018 as Eduardo Rodriguez, recovering from off-season knee surgery, would not be ready for Opening Day.

Under a policy concerning domestic violence instituted in August of 2015, commissioner Rob Manfred has the authority to take disciplinary action against a player even if he's not found guilty of any charges or the charges are subsequently dropped.

Derek Norris, Jose Reyes, Jeurys Familia and Aroldis Chapman all were either suspended or placed on the restricted list after the policy was instituted.