Steroid/Stimulant Use Penalties Just Got Tougher

Earlier this morning we brought you the results from the previous season’s steroid and performance enhancing drug testing done by Major League Baseball and now we bring you a bit of news regarding those 15 failed drug tests out of the 8,281 tests given and what it could  mean to those whole try to “beat the train” again in 2017. The testing is getting harder and more frequent in the new collective bargaining agreement and the penalties are too.

The suspension for a second stimulant violation, such as Adderall, is going up from 25 games to 50 games while a third violation is now a 100-game suspension, up from 80 games just a season ago. You better get that medical exemption if you want to use Adderall, just saying. A fourth suspension is an automatic permanent ban from the game of Major League Baseball.

You may take your case to an arbitrator to get your penalties decreased, the arbitrator can decrease the suspension to as little as 30 games which is down from 40 games just a season ago, as a first-time offender but you must prove that the stimulant found in your urine was there and “not your fault.” However you do that. I guess by pulling a David Ortiz and buying “some supplement from the mall at some damn GNC” while hugging the Commissioner… again, just saying. 

MLB Releases Drug Testing Results from 2016

Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association have released the results from league-wide drug testing in 2016. Here are the results if you were curious.

All-in-all there were 8,281 tests performed under MLB’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program dating back to last offseason to this offseason and of those over 8,000 tests only 15 were failed tests for either steroids, performance enhancing drugs or stimulants. Twelve of the fifteen were for PED’s while three were for stimulants such as Adderall.

Speaking of Adderal, 105 medical exemptions were given to players who suffered from attention deficit disorder (ADD) in 2016 which equates to 8% of all MLB players.

All-in-all you have to think MLB is happy with these numbers. That number is never going to be 0 but I think that 15 failed tests in an entire calendar year is as close to that number as you’re going to get. There’s always going to be those handful of players that want to “beat the train” and take those drugs anyway so this is a win in my eyes for MLB.

Great job. 

Most Popular Article of the Week: If Miami Needs a Second Baseman…..

Well the most popular article of the week was a posting wondering why Drew Bridges was shown on the Yankees 40 man roster and shown as being called up from Charleston  despite a .205 batting average in Low-A Ball. This was eventually discovered to be a "glitch" or "clerical error"  so I wouldn't feel right putting an inaccurate story up as the Most Popular Article of the Week so we go with the second most popular article of the week, the post that asked the question whether Miami needed a second baseman and would be willing to give up some starting pitching after losing Dee Gordon to suspension for 80 days.

I’m sure you’ve heard by now that reigning National League batting champion and current Miami Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon has been suspended for 80 games due to “unknowingly” taking steroids and/or performance enhancing drugs. If you haven’t then more on that later. One position that the Yankees seem to be absolutely stacked at is the middle infield leaving me to wonder if Miami needs a second baseman and the Yankees need some pitching help could these two teams hook up for a trade later on this season?


Just off the top of my head without doing too much research I can name you at least 10 middle infielders that the Yankees could deem as trade bait to send to the Marlins in a potential trade. The list starts with Robert Refsnyder, continues with Ronald Torreyes, wraps around Jorge Mateo and ends with some combination of Wilkerman Garcia, Chase Headley (move Martin Prado to second and Headley to third), Kyle Holder, Tyler Wade and a slew of others I could name but you likely already know by name anyway at this point.


What does Miami potentially have to offer in return? Well I don’t pretend to be an expert on the Miami Marlins and I’m especially not well versed in their farm system but I know a guy named Jose Fernandez! A guy can dream anyway, right? But in all seriousness the Marlins have to have something to match up with the Yankees. Maybe a Justin Nicolino? I really don't know, maybe someone can fill me in.



You get what you pay for, remember that, but if the Marlins need a second baseman and the Yankees need some pitching I think these two sides could work something out. Miami will likely ride things out without Gordon, it is only for 80 games, but this may be the perfect opportunity for Cashman to do what he does best. Sell from a strength and take advantage of what is going on around him to maximize the deal. He did it with Aroldis Chapman and gave up peanuts in terms of the return and he can do so again with Dee Gordon. But will he? Stay tuned.

Just When You Thought the Game Was Getting Clean

Just when you thought Major League Baseball was finally starting to get ahead of this whole steroids and performance enhancing drugs thing you find two players getting suspended at the Major League level for 80 games each. In recent weeks the Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Chris Colabello was suspended for 80 games while vehemently denying any use and any allegations while the Miami Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon was also popped on a failed drug test this week. This game is not getting any cleaner the drugs are just getting harder to detect and the players are getting sneakier which could complicate things when the two sides go sit down at the table to talk about the subject and a new collective bargaining agreement this winter.

It’s not just the Major Leagues that are struggling with PED use and suspensions but it’s minor league baseball as well. You can go on Baseball America once a month and see the list of two or three, sometimes even four or five, players that got suspended that month for PED use. You know why? In the minor leagues it’s almost worth the risk to do it at least once. I’m not condoning the use of steroids nor am I making it out to be okay that they are using it but some players you have to remember are international free agents. They left everything they had and everything they knew to come here on the off chance they may make it to the show and they have very little to lose and the world to gain by using and not getting caught. The Major League players should know better especially MLB players like Dee Gordon who just signed a monster contract extension with his club.

Truth be told the game may never be clean because the world will never be free of dirty people looking to cheat the system and exploit anything and everything with every opportunity that they can. We are living in a world where people will cheat and exploit something as simple as a video game or a math test. We are living in a world where lawyers can be vilified but at the same time they can rise to fame and stardom, remember Johnny Cochran? We are living in a world where if you’re not cheating you’re not trying and if you’re not trying you’re not feeding your kids as well as the next guy. I may be over simplifying this thing but I am only doing so to prove a point and that point is this. The game will never be clean. Every time we think it’s clean we read about someone getting popped for drugs and steroids. We just have to deal with it.

If Miami Needs a Second Baseman…..

I’m sure you’ve heard by now that reigning National League batting champion and current Miami Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon has been suspended for 80 games due to “unknowingly” taking steroids and/or performance enhancing drugs. If you haven’t then more on that later. One position that the Yankees seem to be absolutely stacked at is the middle infield leaving me to wonder if Miami needs a second baseman and the Yankees need some pitching help could these two teams hook up for a trade later on this season?

Just off the top of my head without doing too much research I can name you at least 10 middle infielders that the Yankees could deem as trade bait to send to the Marlins in a potential trade. The list starts with Robert Refsnyder, continues with Ronald Torreyes, wraps around Jorge Mateo and ends with some combination of Wilkerman Garcia, Chase Headley (move Martin Prado to second and Headley to third), Kyle Holder, Tyler Wade and a slew of others I could name but you likely already know by name anyway at this point.

What does Miami potentially have to offer in return? Well I don’t pretend to be an expert on the Miami Marlins and I’m especially not well versed in their farm system but I know a guy named Jose Fernandez! A guy can dream anyway, right? But in all seriousness the Marlins have to have something to match up with the Yankees. Maybe a  Justin Nicolino? I really don't know, maybe someone can fill me in. 

You get what you pay for, remember that, but if the Marlins need a second baseman and the Yankees need some pitching I think these two sides could work something out. Miami will likely ride things out without Gordon, it is only for 80 games, but this may be the perfect opportunity for Cashman to do what he does best. Sell from a strength and take advantage of what is going on around him to maximize the deal. He did it with Aroldis Chapman and gave up peanuts in terms of the return and he can do so again with Dee Gordon. But will he? Stay tuned.