Judge reinstates sexual assault charges against pitcher Evan Reed

A Detroit judge has reinstated sexual assault charges against former Tigers pitcher Evan Reed. 

According to the Detroit Free Press, Judge Michael James Callahan reversed Judge Kenneth King's earlier decision to drop the case after prosecutors appealed the ruling. Callahan said King "abused his discretion," according to the Free Press. 

Reed's defense attorney will appeal the decision, he said. 

Prosecutors in Detroit announced in July that they were charging Reed with two counts of criminal sexual conduct. The charges stem from an incident in March at a Detroit hotel. Detroit police revealed in April that they were investigating Reed for sexual assault. 

According to Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, around midnight on March 30, Reed met a 45-year-old woman at a bar outside Detroit. "At some point, the (woman) finished an alcoholic drink and began to feel odd," a news release from Worthy's office said, according to the Free Press. 

Reed left the bar with the woman and took a cab to a downtown Detroit hotel, where the woman alleges Reed sexually assaulted her at 7:30 the following morning.

The Tigers designated Reed for assignment on June 18. He was promoted to the majors on August 29 after the charges against him were dropped. Reed exercised an opt-out clause in his contract after the end of the season and is a free agent. 

- Dan Gartland