Dominicans’ Contracts Voided

This time, the players signed by the Dodgers in the Dominican Republic were too old.

And the team was held blameless.

The commissioner’s office voided the contracts of two Dominicans, saying they misrepresented their ages to appear younger when they signed with the Dodgers.

Alexis Arias and Arismendy Cuello, who signed minor league contracts, played for the championship team in last year’s Dominican Summer League.

The Dodgers were penalized twice in 1999 for signing players younger than the minimum age of 16.

“The Dodgers notified us,” Rafael Oscar Perez, a representative of commissioner Bud Selig in the Dominican Republic, said Friday. “The Dodgers were as surprised as we were.”

Cuello signed with the Dodgers in July 1997 and Arias signed in January 1998.

Perez said the players would not be allowed to sign with any major league team before June.

“They fooled the Dodgers, and the office of the commissioner, because both signed with ages that weren’t their real ones,” Perez said. “Cuello said he was 19, when his true age is 24. The other . . . took off two years.”

Neither Arias nor Cuello could immediately be reached for comment.