Major League Baseball has a real problem on its hands.
Eight players have been suspended so far this year for failing PED drug tests.
That is a remarkable number of players being suspended when MLB thought it had contained the problem with more testing and longer suspensions.
Reports indicate that Los Angeles Dodgers relief
pitcher Josh Ravin was suspended 80 games on Monday for using a banned
substance. Yahoo Sports said this is the sixth major leaguer to
face discipline for performance-enhancing drugs this season.
Ravin, who is on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster but has
spent the year on the disabled list after breaking his non-throwing left
arm in a car accident during spring training, tested positive for a
banned peptide, according to sources.
His suspension comes on the heels of 80-game bans for Marlins' Dee Gordon, Blue Jays' Chris Colabello Indians' center fielder Abraham Almonte and Philadelphia reliever
Daniel Stumpf were hit with 80-game suspensions. Famously, New
York Mets reliever Jenrry Mejia received a lifetime ban in February for a
third positive test.
Mejia claimed it was an MLB conspiracy against him. Many of the others did not know how a banned substance got into their body. But it comes down to the possibility that the players were taking "supplements" as part of their routine.
Supplements are often not regulated by the FDA. Supplements may contain substances that are not in the label, or disguised by long, rambling chemical names. The punishment for using banned substances is strict liability: the players are charged with knowing what goes into their bodies.
But players are not thinking clearly. Incident after incident shows that ingesting supplements can lead to failed drug tests. But players continue to take supplements because they need an edge, physically or mentally, to compete for a major league roster position.
In Gordon's case, the risk reward was apparently worth it. He signed a $50 million extension. His drug suspension will cost him about $1.6 million. When there is so much guaranteed money at stake, players will risk getting caught if they can get a huge payday.
That is why some major league players want their union to agree to stronger punishments for offenders, from year long suspensions to permanent bans. The owners are mulling a provision to void a long term contract for any suspended player, but the players union and agents will fight that proposal.
But with a compelling season of excellent baseball stories in April, the league does not need a repeat of the daily stories and whispers during the Steroid Era. Cheating continues to be a real problem for major league baseball.
