Arenado drops appeal, will begin 5-game suspension Saturday

Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado has elected to drop his appeal of a five-game suspension for charging the mound and inciting Wednesday's brawl with the San Diego Padres, the team announced, meaning he'll begin serving his ban on Saturday.

Ryan McMahon will replace Arenado at the hot corner for Saturday's game against the Washington Nationals.

Arenado will be eligible to return on April 20, when the Rockies host the Chicago Cubs.

Arenado charged the mound and took a swing at Padres starter Luis Perdomo after Perdomo threw behind him in the third inning, triggering a wild melee that saw punches thrown and multiple players from both teams get ejected.

(Video courtesy: MLB.com)

Because he initially appealed, Arenado was able to play in Friday's game at Washington.

"I figured it would be somewhere around there (five games), but I think it's a lot," Arenado said of the ban on Friday. "It is what it is. Five games is a lot of games. I was just defending myself. They throw hard out there and reactions happen."

Colorado outfielder Gerardo Parra was also given a four-game ban by MLB for his actions during the brawl; Parra has not dropped his appeal and is in Saturday's lineup.

Perdomo was also suspended five games for throwing at Arenado, while Padres pitcher Buddy Baumann received one game. Several other players on both the Rockies and Padres were also fined.