Rangers catcher Geovany Soto arrested for marijuana possession

Geovany Soto has been sidelined all season following surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. But the Rangers catcher has been busy with other things:

Texas Rangers catcher Geovany Soto was arrested Wednesday night in Grapevine on a marijuana possession charge. Soto, 31, was pulled over for speeding around 10 p.m. in the 3500 block of Ira E. Woods Avenue, said Grapevine police spokesman Sgt. Robert Eberling. He has been charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana under 2 ounces. Eberling said Soto was cooperative during the arrest.

While the majors have no testing for pot, use of marijuana does violate baseball’s Joint Drug Agreement. There are no suspensions for it, however, at least not in first offenses like this. Rather, players are assessed to see if they need to go into some sort of treatment program.

There is no indication from the report that Soto was under the influence of marijuana when arrested. Just that he had it. Based on the way the laws and attitudes in this country are changing of late, one can assume that in a few years “incidents” such as these will be treated the same way as if Soto had an unopened six pack in his car. As in: he’ll get a speeding ticket and drive away.