:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69000356/4_4___CAMARGO______MG_4051.0.jpg)
Cubs minor league pitcher Jesus Camargo-Corrales was arrested this week after police in Eagle County, Colorado found 21 pounds of methamphetamine and 1.2 pounds of oxycodone pills in his car. The drugs were found in a Cubs duffel bag. He is being held in an Eagle County jail on $75,000 bond.
Camargo-Corrales (who is listed as just “Jesus Camargo” on the MiLB site, and that’s what we’ve called him around here) was stopped on Wednesday after a sheriff’s deputy saw him speeding and driving erratically along Interstate 70 in Colorado. There were two other people in the car that was driving from Denver to Phoenix. Both of the other people said that they were unaware of the drugs.
Camargo-Corrales said that he was carrying the bag for a friend back in Mexico in exchange for $500 and he was unaware that the bag contained narcotics. He also denied using any of them. Camargo-Corrales did give consent before the police searched the car. A drug-sniffing dog alerted the deputy to package in the rear wheel well.
The Cubs signed Camargo-Corrales out of Mexico in 2014, when the Cubs were in the international bonus “penalty box” and were signing several players out of Mexico as part of a loophole in the rules back then. He missed the entire 2016 season with an injury and pitched for Eugene in 2017 and South Bend in 2018. In his most recent season in the Cubs system, Camargo went 4-3 with four saves and a 3.59 ERA in 36 relief appearances for High-A Myrtle Beach. He struck out 68 and walked 23 in 72⅔ innings in 2019. He was expected to pitch for now High-A South Bend this summer.
In the article linked above, Cubs senior vice-president of communications Julian Green said: “We are aware of the arrest of one of our minor league players. We are investigating the matter and cannot provide additional comment until we have further details.”
As always, we await further developments.