5:21pm: According to a source familiar with the case, Braun's original test for performance-enhancing drugs was "insanely high, the highest ever for anyone who has ever taken a test, twice the level of the highest test ever taken," writes Teri Thompson of the New York Daily News.
3:55pm: Yahoo's Jeff Passan reports (in these five Twitter links) that baseball's new CBA contains a provision stating that if a player tests positive for a banned substance, the drug will be publicly announced. The Players' Union could contest the announcement, as Braun's test was conducted under the old CBA, which prevented that information from becoming public. Experts say that false positives are nearly impossible under the carbon-isotope testing performed by WADA. His source also confirmed that MLB has never lost an arbitration case with PEDs. Ultimately, Passan says it's unlikely Braun's appeal will stand, and we'll probably learn which substance Braun tested for.
SUNDAY, 11:50am: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears from a source that Braun tested positive for a prohibited substance, not a performance-enhancing drug (Twitter link). Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel was told the same thing, with his source saying there's "never" been a result like this since MLB's drug testing program began.
SATURDAY, 6:46pm: Reigning NL MVP Ryan Braun has tested positive for a performance-enchancing drug, reports Mark Fainaru-Wada and T.J. Quinn of ESPN. YokalSports.com was the first to report the news (on Twitter). Braun is facing a 50-game suspension and is disputing the positive test through arbitration.
"There are highly unusual circumstances surrounding this case which will support Ryan's complete innocence and demonstrate there was absolutely no intentional violation of the program," said a spokesman for Braun in a statement. "While Ryan has impeccable character and no previous history, unfortunately, because of the process we have to maintain confidentiality and are not able to discuss it any further, but we are confident he will ultimately be exonerated."
Braun, 28, was tested during the playoffs and notified of the positive result in late-October. Elevated levels of testosterone in Braun's system triggered the positive test, which prompted MLB to ask the testing agency to perform a second test. The second test determined that the testosterone was exogenous, meaning it was produced outside of Braun's body.
Tyler Barnes, a spokesperson for the Brewers, said the team had no knowledge of the positive test and had not yet been contacted by the commissioner's office. Fainaru-Wade and Quinn say that Braun has told those close to him that he did not knowingly take an illegal substance and hopes the arbitration process proves his innocence. No player has ever successfully appealed a positive PED test.
The Brewers signed Braun to a five-year contract extension worth $105MM back in April, which will keep him in Milwaukee through 2020. He led the Brewers to the NL Central crown and took home MVP honors by hitting .332/.397/.597 with 33 homers and 33 steals this past season. It was his fourth 30+ homer season in his five years as a big leaguer.
Guillermo Mota, J.C. Romero, Edinson Volquez, and Manny Ramirez have been suspended 50 games for failed PED tests under MLB's current drug policy.
