Major League Baseball

Marlins pitcher could face jail time

Published Sep. 24, 2011 1:40 p.m. ET

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The Florida Marlins relief pitcher known to the league as Leo Nunez was due Saturday to be criminally charged in his native Dominican Republic for using a fake identity.

Nunez returned home Thursday after formally confessing to officials that his real name is Juan Carlos Oviedo.

Prosecutors said the pitcher borrowed a friend's identity, thus lowering his age, to improve the terms of his first professional contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2000, which better rewarded younger talent.

Jacqueline Lamarche, spokeswoman for the Dominican Attorney General's Office, told The Miami Herald that Oviedo could be jailed if he is convicted, threatening his chances of obtaining a legitimate United States visa.

The closer was placed on Major League Baseball's restricted list and removed from Florida's roster in the wake of the scandal.

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